


The House On The Corner

by ShivaeSyke



Series: Blackwood Confidential [1]
Category: Black Rose (Webcomic), Strange Magic (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, F/M, Fluff, Halloween, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Panic Attacks, Past Domestic Violence, Were-Creatures, graphic description of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-10-27 14:51:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 53,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20762165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShivaeSyke/pseuds/ShivaeSyke
Summary: Marianne moved into her new home in January to escape an abusive ex-fiance and she's having a nice quiet life.   Her sister Dawn and her new husband recently moved in with her to save money to buy their own house someday.Everything was nice, quiet and normal, until September 30th when her normally shy-to-her neighbor pops out of his house to start a massive building project all over his neatly manicured yard for Halloween.  Marianne is dragged into the project by her sister.... and then her ex shows up.Things are not so nice, quiet or normal anymore.(((Experiment that will be updating throughout October on the actual days of the events in the story.)))





	1. September 30th

**Author's Note:**

> Created to be themed for Halloween, because Endora inspired me with hers. I have plans for a Blackwood Halloween storyline, but I can not tell that story without spoiling parts of what I've already written so I decided to swing the same characters into a slightly modified setting so it doesn't ruin my other story. 
> 
> This one is written in a different manner and I've stripped out the detailed world-building that I do in Blackwood - however if you have read that - EVERY WORLD ELEMENT THERE IS THE SAME HERE and applies to this story, even though the backgrounds of the characters have changed around to avoid spoiling Blackwood.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marianne has been avoiding her neighbor, Bogdan Laird, after she moved in and had several incidents with him that have left a bad impression on her.

** **

**September 30th.**

“Your neighbor is insane, Marianne.” Sunny and Dawn were on their knees on the couch cushions. They were peeking over the back and through the blinds to watch what was going on next door. Several piles of 2 x 4s and sheets of plywood had been delivered earlier that morning. They were stacked in the driveway and in several areas in the grass.

  
The house on the corner had the biggest lot on the street. Marianne’s house had the second biggest. Both houses were nice, neat modern homes with a cookie-cutter appearance. Huge piles of lumber tended to stand out, especially when it looked like enough to cover a whole lot. What did her neighbor need with so much wood? What project was he planning on this time?

  
“So he’s building something. So what?” Marianne leaned over the couch, trying to see through the partially open blinds. She spotted her tall thin neighbor walking around the front yard. He was holding a roll of string, a hammer and a bag full of wooden stakes. Every few feet he would hammer a stake into the ground and wind string around it, marking off areas of the yard. “He’s well prepared for a vampire attack.” Marianne giggled and took a sip of her morning coffee.

  
Then she moved over to a window next to the couch that offered a more unobstructed view. The blinds had an easy to use slider that opened or closed them immediately. Much better for spying on someone. Her neighbor was outside at the same time every day. She timed her morning coffee so she could sit in the living room and watch him. He usually worked on his immaculate flower beds and the one massive tree in the center of his yard. Bog had a schedule, and he stuck firmly to it.

  
Yet it was unusual to see her quiet, reserved neighbor out in his front yard like this. Bogdan Laird was in black sweat pants, and that was it. He was barefoot and shirtless. Bog was walking around his yard with far more enthusiasm than usual. Marianne smiled appreciatively. He was a thin man with wide shoulders, a broad chest and a pleasant amount of muscular curves in all the right places. This was a rare morning treat.

Marianne stared through the blinds, glad that he couldn’t see them watching him. His wavy, shoulder-length black hair was a mess, and he had a good layer of stubble on his face. It was a good look on him.

  
Marianne had moved into her house in January. She had come by herself with a small truck of belongings. It had been raining when she arrived, and she didn’t even have a bed in her new house. It was a miserable time. She had waited for the rain to stop, but it didn’t seem like it was going to cooperate.

  
Then Bogdan Laird and his adorable mother knocked on her door. He had brought her a freshly baked pecan pie. Bog’s mother had gushed about his skills in the kitchen in a way that sounded like she was trying to sell him to Marianne. Then Bog and his mother noticed that the moving truck was outside and she was standing in an empty living room. Bog got the idea to use trash bags to cover her boxes and helped her carry everything in without getting them too wet. The only big furniture she had at the time was a full-sized mattress and frame. He had helped her set it up without a word spoken the entire time. He was so shy. She didn’t push because she found it all sweet. She was immediately attracted to him and his beautiful blue eyes.

  
Twice a month, like clockwork, Bog’s mother invited Marianne to their home for tea. Marianne often had nothing else to do and would accept. It would turn into an hour-long social visit which was nice. Marianne missed her family, and Bog’s mother was a very caring person. Their conversations did often end up centering on Bog, but Marianne didn’t mind. The stories were cute. His mother thought he needed a good woman in his life. She would repeat that statement near the end of every visit. Marianne got the hint, but she wasn’t interested in a relationship with anyone, no matter how good he sounded.

  
Bog was in the house every time she visited, but he never joined them. If he was interested in a relationship with anyone, he wasn’t working toward it. His mother appeared to want it more than he did. Bog came across as a severe workaholic to Marianne. He was in his studio every time she came over, and his mother continually praised his work ethic.

Marianne had seen it herself on many occasions. His garage was full of woodworking tools. She had watched him build a massive pergola in his backyard with the help of friends in a single afternoon.

  
When that man had his mind set on something, it was going to get done. Bog had a single-minded focus that Marianne envied. He had a flourishing garden in the backyard and took care of everything around his house. He was handy with tools.

  
Bog wasn’t perfect. On several occasions, Marianne had been kept awake far later into the night than she liked due to insanely loud music coming from one of Bog’s parties. After two nights in a row, Marianne had enough and had stormed over to his house to demand he turn it down.

  
He had met her at the door, face red in embarrassment the moment he saw her. He knew why she was there. Marianne had laid into him about how some people had REAL jobs and needed to sleep at night. Bog had apologized, and the music immediately went down to reasonable levels. She didn’t have to ask again.

  
Then there was that embarrassing night over the summer. Marianne awoke at 3 am to someone singing outside her front door. The man sounded like he was in pain as he sang a song she had never heard before. It was more like a proclamation than a song. For a moment, she had laid in bed, listening to the heartbreaking words.

> I’ve been mistreated  
I’ve been abused  
I’ve been looking for a woman  
Yeh I’ve been confused  
‘Cause I know, yes, I know I’ve been mistreated

Forced to get out of bed, Marianne was not in a good mood. She had stomped to the front door. Marianne had peered through the peephole to see her neighbor swaying in front of her door. He began belting out another round as mournfully as he had the first and she couldn’t take it. It was sad.

  
Marianne yelled at Bog that he was drunk and to go home. She had moved to the window next to the door to get a better look at him. He was staggering uncontrollably and trying to leave like she had told him to. His head was down, and shoulders slumped. She felt sorry for him and angry at the same time. Bog had attempted to walk down the porch steps and swayed into the railing. There was a loud cracking sound as he fell across the old wood. Then her inebriated neighbor had let out a startled yelp and vanished from sight along with most of her railing.

  
The railing was old, and Marianne had planned to replace it in the future. It wasn’t a significant loss. She was far more concerned about her neighbor than the broken railing. With a sigh, she had finally opened the door to help Bog. She found him flailing in the bushes surrounding her porch. He couldn’t figure out what had happened nor how to get out of it. He was a mess.

  
Once Marianne got to him and managed to grab his hand, he had a moment of clarity and looked ashamed. His entire face turned red, and he slurred an apology. Marianne had been so angry. Drunk people were not fun or amusing in her eyes. They were a menace to be avoided. She also didn’t need to deal with another lawsuit.

  
Bog turned into a pathetic mushy pile of apologies as Marianne half dragged, half carried him to his front door. His mother answered, and between the two of them, they got him inside. Then he collapsed on the floor. It was not a side of her neighbor she wanted to see. Bog’s mother had immediately called 911 in a panic saying this wasn’t normal for her son. Marianne stayed for his mother and was furious with whatever it was Bog had done to end up in such a state. He had worried his mother to tears. Marianne was standing in only a nightshirt inside the Laird’s living room when the ambulance arrived.

  
She had left that morning with a very low opinion of Bogdan Laird. He was like any other man, just wrapped in a more realistic package. He gave in to his vices at the expense of others. Marianne assumed he was fine when he returned home the next afternoon. She was a tiny bit concerned.

  
Several days later Marianne got up like any other day. She showered then picked up her laptop to get some work done on the couch in the front living room. It was a habit from when she liked to watch Bog in the morning. She had been sitting for a few minutes, enjoying her morning cup of coffee when she heard a man’s voice coming from her front yard. He was swearing in a foreign language. Several foreign languages, then in English with a slight Scottish accent. Then she heard the popping sound of a nail gun.

  
Marianne had been afraid to look outside. There was no telling what was going on out there. She sat on the couch and listened. Marianne was sure it was her neighbor, and he was doing something in front of her house. She could hear him walking up and down the stairs and onto the front porch, grunting and swearing. Then she heard him humming a song. It went on for a good hour with Marianne wasting time listening to her neighbor talking to himself, cursing and singing. She caught tidbits of his conversation. He kept saying the word idiot over and over again. After an hour, Marianne finally worked up the courage to look through the window and see what her weird neighbor was up to.

  
She was in awe at what she saw through the blinds. Bog had removed all the railing on her porch along with a lot of old rotten boards. Her entire porch had been on the verge of rotting away. His truck was parked in front of her house with a trailer. It had been loaded with all the old rotten lumber. It looked like he had been working on her porch before the sun had even risen. Bog had replaced the weak boards on her porch and was more than half done with a new railing. Her crummy old porch had been replaced by a sturdy new one.

  
Marianne had stared at him through the blinds, completely confused by what he was doing. He was on her porch, fixing it and hadn’t said a word to her. He hadn’t even asked her if he could or should. It was a bold decision on his part to do this, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Her anger was replaced with pure awe. She didn’t want to be impressed, but he was doing so much work.

  
When he was almost done, Marianne gave in and opened the door with a glass of iced tea in hand. It was late afternoon, and Bog was sweating heavily by then. He had turned red in the face the moment he looked up. He was already red from the heat, but the added blush was noticeable. She took the tea to him and stood there holding it out to him.

  
“That wasn’t me.” Bog had mumbled. “Doctors said I had been dosed with GHB before I came home. I don’t remember much of that night. Mom told me I broke yer railing.”

  
“You didn’t have to do this.” Marianne wasn’t sure if she believed him or not, but he had gone over and above what he should have.

  
“I did. We’re neighbors. I didn’t want ye to think badly about me.” Bog took the glass appreciatively. “Thank ye.” He didn’t say anything further. He finished his repairs and left.  
Then he avoided Marianne for over a month.

-=-=-=-=-=-=

  
Life returned to normal. They said hi and exchanged a few words of idle chit chat about the weather or local news. Only now, Marianne was the one avoiding him. The whole incident soured her on getting to know him any better. She still went over to tea with his mother, but Bog was off-limits.

  
That was an awful thing. The man seemed so amazing, and she could watch him working for hours when he was outside. It didn’t matter if his shirt was on or not, he was nice to watch. His wavy black hair was almost always in a state of disarray. On occasion, she glimpsed those brilliant blue eyes. His slender face seemed more expressive than most men’s. His cheekbones were high and sharply angled and the guy never seemed to smile. He frowned. He scowled. He could look intensely thoughtful. She had seen him smirk once.

  
Marianne had spoken with him enough times to have seen that he had some serious dental issues. Bog had likely had them his entire life. He didn’t smile if it meant showing his teeth. It was one of those things that told her that he had endured a lot of teasing. He was painfully self-conscious.

  
“Okay, you two, you can’t just spend the morning watching my neighbor.” Marianne kept looking out the window as she spoke. “You promised me you’d be taking care of me for the next year. You need to go shopping so you can make lunch and dinner… and breakfast tomorrow… and lunch and dinner.” She turned and smiled at Sunny and Dawn who were giving her dirty looks.

  
“Are you going to spend the morning watching your weird neighbor?” Dawn’s face broke out in a mischievous grin.

  
“Absolutely not!” Marianne was staring out the window. She quickly looked back at Dawn and Sunny. “I have work to do. I just wanted to see the sun rising.”

  
“Out the western side of the house?” Sunny chuckled.

  
“Reflection,” Marianne smirked. She pulled herself away from the window. “Let me get my debit card. Remember, food only, no games!” Marianne set her coffee aside and rushed to get her sister and brother-in-law out of the house. The sooner they were gone, the sooner she could spend the morning watching her crazy hot neighbor. Watching was okay. She could watch him all she wanted.

-=-=-=-=-=-=  
Bogdan Laird was completely unaware anyone was watching him. He was fully involved in laying out the structures he intended to build for this year’s Halloween display. All the lumber that would be needed had been delivered. He had spent months going over every detail he wanted to put into this year’s display. He designed and attempted to build a bigger and better set up every year. He turned his entire front yard into a play area for the neighborhood kids in October. This year he was creating a western ghost town complete with a scary graveyard.

  
Bog had a policy of not putting up decorations for a holiday until they reached the month they were actually in. Halloween did not begin until October 1st. Thanksgiving was November 1st and Christmas was December 1st. He decorated for each one of them, something that he hoped wouldn’t bother his next-door neighbor. There were going to be kids all over his yard for most of the month. He hoped she would be understanding.

  
Today was preparation day. He was laying out the materials and making measurements to make work easier tomorrow. He had invited his friends to help. There was going to be a huge party tomorrow evening with a barbecue going all day while they worked. Everyone would have a good time, but most importantly the kids were going to have a blast when it was done. He had all the proper permits and had filed his plans months ago. He even had an inspector scheduled to drop by several times to make sure everything would be safe. By now he knew how to make a safe display, but he was a stickler for rules and following them without incident. He didn’t want to make any errors that would delay the fun even a day.

  
“So what are you doing?” Bog looked up to see a very bouncy blond-headed girl coming at him. He backpedaled to make sure she wasn’t going to tackle him.

  
“Uh?” Bog gave her and the short, stocky guy behind her a blank look. He didn’t know them. Who were these strangers? He was supposed to know everyone in the neighborhood.

  
“Hi, I’m Dawn!’ Dawn held out her hand. “I’m your neighbor Marianne’s little sister, and this is my husband, Sunny! We got married a couple of weeks ago and are living with Marianne to save money for a house!”

  
Bog looked from Dawn to Sunny, who was also smiling at him. Newlyweds. Lovely. Bog swallowed and forced a nervous smile taking Dawn’s hand. “Bogdan Laird.” He glanced at Marianne’s house and could swear that he saw the blinds suddenly close. “Welcome to the neighborhood. As for what I’m doing, it’s something I do every year. Making a Halloween playground for the kids.”

  
“Really? That’s so sweet!” Dawn bounced in place. “Can we help?!”

“Yeah, that sounds like fun,” Sunny added. “What can we do? We want to be part of the community!”

  
Bog continued staring, taken entirely off guard by the offer. Most of the families on the street considered his festive nature a little over the top. These two had no idea what they were getting into. Still, every pair of hands meant less work for everyone involved.

  
“Can ye paint? My friends aren’t that great at anything beyond flat colors.” Bog ventured.

  
“I’m an interior designer, and Sunny’s an architect,” Dawn replied excitedly.

  
“Uhm, I’m a mobile applications developer, Dawn.” Sunny whispered.

  
“What’s that?” Bog had no idea what Sunny was saying.

  
“I make mobile games!” Sunny grinned. “Dawn sees me designing buildings and drawing layouts all the time.”

  
“Oh?”

  
“Yeah, so we can both paint. I help Dawn out when she’s doing art projects.”

  
Bog looked at the two. What harm would it do? They were his neighbors and if they wanted to help he should welcome them. “We begin tomorrow morning. I don’t pay anything. It’s for fun, but there will be food all day and a party tomorrow night. Ye can stay as long as ye want. No hard feelings if it’s not something ye want to do when we get started, and ye quit. Ye can still come over to the party.”

  
“Is Marianne invited? I’m sure she’d like to help once she finds out what you’re doing!” Dawn glanced back at the house where she could see Marianne peeking through the blinds. She was giving them dirty looks.

  
Bog sighed. “I don’t think yer sister wants anything to do with me. Please do not pressure her to help if she doesn’t want to be around me.”

  
“Oh.” Dawn glanced to the window again, and Marianne was shaking her head mouthing the word NO. “I think she might do it for the kids. That and she needs to get out of the house and make more friends.”

  
“She’s invited if she wants to help.” Bog’s gaze drifted to the lawn as he idly kicked one of his stakes. He winced as his bare foot struck it, forgetting that he wasn’t wearing shoes. “But she’s not obligated to or anything.” Bog grumbled and limped to his front door. “We start at daybreak.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=  
“Uhm, you volunteered me for what?” Marianne almost gagged on her grilled cheese sandwich. Sunny and Dawn had made tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with five different kinds of cheese for lunch. It was one of Marianne’s favorite lunches. Sunny and Dawn were buttering her up. Marianne swallowed and stared at her sister.

  
“Bog builds a Halloween playground in his front yard for Halloween!” Dawn exclaimed. “Isn’t that cute?!”

  
“Uh, yeah. Not quite the word I would use to describe it.” Marianne made a face. She hadn’t seen any sign from her next-door neighbor that he had any interest in anyone in the neighborhood playing in his front yard. Everyone kept out of his yard, adult or child. She had seen someone walking their dog by Bog’s house and said dog took a dump in the grass. Bog had turned on the sprinklers from inside the house. It looked like he had some sort of master setting that made the water spray out like a fire hose all along the perimeter of his yard. The dog and owner were drenched in seconds.

  
He did not decorate for Valentine’s Day. Marianne wasn’t even sure she had seen him leave his house for the first half of February. There had been a beautiful little sign for Easter. Bog’s house was decorated the same as every other house for the Fourth of July. Nothing out of the ordinary. Why would Halloween be so different?

  
“Bog said he thinks you don’t like him. What would give him that idea?” Dawn stirred her soup and stared at Marianne. “I see you looking out that widow every time you pass it.”

  
“I uh, yelled at him several times,” Marianne admitted more to the table than Dawn.

  
“Why would you yell at that sweet guy?” Dawn was aghast. He had seemed so polite and undeserving of her sister’s wrath. “That man is a saint!”

  
Marianne took a deep breath and recounted the events from the summer. Twenty minutes later she was staring at her sister and brother-in-law. They were both laughing hysterically, their faces red and eyes watering at what she told them. Marianne was completely confused by their reaction.

  
“Okay, getting roofied is not funny, but oh wow, he seriously was singing at your door?!” Dawn could barely breathe. “Those exact words?”

  
“And then he broke your railing?” Sunny laughed along with his wife.

  
“Then he showed up and fixed it all without you asking him to?” Dawn wiped her eyes, then turned serious. “Marianne! How could you yell at him and not apologize! It wasn’t his fault.”

  
“What? Why am I suddenly the bad guy?” Marianne folded her arms and pouted at the pair.

  
Dawn got up and walked around to where Marianne was sitting. She wrapped her arms around her sister’s shoulders and squeezed her tight. “Marianne! All men are not the R-word!” Marianne stiffened with a sudden burst of anger.

  
“He was drunk.” Marianne rolled her eyes. “I don’t like drunks, and he was obviously out drinking with his buddies so yeah, he’s no better than the R-word.”

  
“But you don’t know that for sure.” Dawn pointed out. “Look what he did for you. He fixed your awful porch. Did you even say thank you?”

  
“I didn’t ask him to do it,” Marianne grumbled stubbornly.

  
“You should thank him for it. He did an amazing job.” Dawn moved back to her chair next to Sunny.

  
“Thanks. You ruined my lunch.” Marianne got up and left the table without another word. She retreated to her workroom where she knew nobody would bother her. Bringing up the R-word was the best way to bring out the worst in Marianne. She had caught him kissing another woman on the day they were going to marry, and he had been wasted out of his mind. He tried to convince her that she had put something in his drink and it wasn’t his fault.

  
Marianne was done with him at that point. She had been trying to leave the room when he attacked her. There was no way that he was going to dumped by his fiancee right before they were to be married. He had hit her in an attempt to make her do what he wanted. Marianne had fought back viciously and broke his left leg. It had been a complete and total accident. She wasn’t even sure how she had done it. Everything had been a blur.

  
Roland had sued her, offering to drop the charges if she married him. Marianne was not about to give in. He had struck her and if he did it once, he would do it again. He won the case and Marianne still owed him thousands, which she was paying off a little at a time. She had moved to get away from him.

  
It was unfair to Bog that she had not believed him when he told her he had been drugged. But he was a man, and she didn’t trust men after what she had been through. He was nice to look at, but she didn’t want to go any further than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THERE we go! Final round of edits. I posted this earlier than I should have. I also just picked up a subscription to Grammerly that can yell at me for missing commas... constantly... and hyphens.. I hate commas and hyphens. It really helps.
> 
> I loved writing this as much as I enjoy the other ones I'm working on, but this one moves much, MUCH faster. At the moment there should be 11 or 12 chapters all updating in October on the days they actually happen. Some will be back to back. This will be a fun experiment. I can probably maintain a November and December one before I crash and wave a white flag. Updating on a tight schedule like that is rough when I have other obligations, but it is so much fun. Next update will be October 1st and I can't wait to share it, since it starts out with a lot of teasing. Marianne's a brat and Bog's already hopelessly in love with her.


	2. October 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to build a cool little ghost town for the kids!  
Sweet shy Bog isn't quite as shy when Marianne isn't yelling at him and being angry with him constantly.  
Marianne discovers something she didn't think about that night Bog was singing at her door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you know how hard it is to wait until October 1st to be nice to Bog and his desire NOT to start things before the month they are in, because it IS HARD.

**October 1st**  
  
Bog was startled to see Marianne walk into the garage with Sunny and Dawn the next morning. All three were dressed in jeans and t-shirts, ready to get to work. His own friends had already arrived and were eating omelets in the kitchen. His mother was cooking for them. Bog had already eaten and was pulling out the equipment they were going to be using during the day. There were also 20 gallons of paint to be set out.

  
“Good morning, Boggy!” Dawn bounced into the garage with far more energy than any one person should ever have in the morning. Sunny was right behind her. Then a very uncomfortable Marianne trailed the two.

  
“That’s Bogdan.” Bog sighed and wondered if this was going to be the start of a thing with her. “Breakfast is in the kitchen.” Bog motioned to the door that led into the house from the garage. “When yer done I’ll find something fer ye to do.” Sunny and Dawn waved and headed inside.

  
Bog went to his drafting table and began organizing his building plans. Marianne wandered over to stand in front of Bog on the other side of the table. She held her hands behind her back. Marianne was fidgeting with her fingers. Bog had hoped that she would follow Sunny and Dawn inside. She stood in front of him while he had his head down, ignoring her. After a few minutes of pretending to look over one of his plans, Bog looked up. Her current demeanor wasn’t threatening and didn’t cause the typical shy, Don’t yell at me! reaction he tended to have in her presence.

  
“Thank you.” Marianne couldn’t look him in the eye.

  
“No problem. Why don’t ye go have some breakfast? My mom’ll be happy to see ye.” Bog stared at her. She was a confusing woman. Beautiful and confusing. Her short golden brown hair was sticking up wildly. Marianne looked up, and their eyes met. It was the oddest feeling. He couldn’t look away. He didn’t want to. She had the prettiest soulful eyes. The few times Bog had seen them up close was when she was yelling at him, and they held a frightening fire. Right now, they were apologetic and ashamed. He liked them better like this.

  
“Hey, Bog, yer annoying neighbor isn’t going to pitch a fit when we start making a lot of noise, is she?” One of Bog’s friends called from the kitchen.

  
“No. My annoying neighbor is not going to pitch a fit, Brutus.” Bog yelled back, still focused on Marianne. A look of embarrassment crossed her face.

  
“Just tell her you have a crush on her with your sweet Scottish accent, and she’ll be all over you. Maybe try one of those other languages you know!” Someone else added. Bog closed his eyes and grimaced. Now it was his turn to be embarrassed. There was a lot of laughter following that and Marianne heard Dawn and Sunny’s laughter mixing in it.

  
“It’s okay. Marianne watches him through the window every chance she gets!’ That was Dawn. And that was mean! Dawn KNEW she was in the garage. “You should have seen her yesterday morning when he was walking around shirtless!”

  
Marianne groaned and looked like she wanted to crawl under a rock. Bog smirked and leaned forward. His own face was a matching shade of crimson. He whispered mischievously. “Oh, ye watch me from yer windows, eh? Like a regular stalker?”

  
“It’s not like that.” Marianne took a step back. “I enjoy the view of the trees and your nice yard.”

  
“Ah.” Bog nodded. Then he began taking off his shirt. It was an awkward gesture with Bog getting stuck in his shirt halfway through the process of getting it off. He swore, whirled around, and finally got free. Then he tossed his shirt at her with a smirk. “Small price to pay if ye enjoy the view.” Marianne wasn’t sure if it was possible to blush any harder than she already was. She also wasn’t sure if he was mocking her or flirting. Should she laugh at the ridiculous display? Was he joking? “Breakfast?” Bog motioned to the door again, turning his back to her. He had intended to immediately send her on her way in disgust at his thin frame.

  
Marianne took another step back, taking a moment to admire Bog’s backside up close. “I enjoy the view.” She stated dumbly. Bog froze. He wasn’t accustomed to any kind of compliments on his appearance.

  
“What?” Bog turned to see Marianne vanishing into the kitchen. He made a face at her retreating form. Bog grumbled and went to retrieve his shirt only to find it missing. Marianne had taken his shirt!

  
Marianne darted through the kitchen, waving her prize above her head. Everyone stared at her in surprise as she passed through and headed to the bathroom. She had closed the door behind her by the time Bog entered the kitchen yelling for her. He was stopped immediately by everyone making cheering sounds and laughing at him. His mother looked particularly amused.

-=-=-=-=-  
Marianne changed from her shirt into Bog’s. If she had to spend the day with him, then she was going to enjoy flustering the man. She was also going to see an expression on his face that wasn’t his usual frown or scowl. Plus. This was fun. She paused for a moment to lift the collar of his shirt over her nose and smell it. It had a clean and woodsy scent. She guessed the pleasant smell she couldn’t describe was Bog.

  
For a moment, Marianne reconsidered wearing it and wondered if she could slip out of the house and hide it. She decided against it since Sunny and Dawn would never leave her alone about it if she did.

  
The shirt, which was solid black with nine emblems representing the various key players in Marvel’s Avengers, was too big for her. It dropped over one shoulder, which wasn’t a bad look. But she ended up tying the bottom of it so it wouldn’t look quite as over-sized as it was on her.

  
“Marianne?” Bog was softly knocking on the door. “Can I have my shirt back?”

  
She opened the door and gave Bog a smug smile, showing off her new look. He immediately backed off with a nervous expression. The way his eyes shifted away and then back to her, then aside again said it all. “I’ll find another shirt.” Bog wandered off with a stupid grin on his face that he didn’t want Marianne to see. It looked cute on her and made him feel weird.

  
-=-=-=-=-  
The morning went by quickly with Bog giving out orders and assigning everyone a job to do. Bog had half a dozen friends, most of whom were almost as tall as he was. Three were muscular men with tan skin and black tribal tattoos encircling their massive arms. These three big guys were all skilled woodworkers and brothers. They were put to work laying down wood foundations and walkways through a miniature town.

  
One of Bog’s friends, Zac, helped Dawn and Sunny prepare the plywood walls for paint. They laid down base coats and had them propped up inside the garage and in the driveway to dry. Bog’s two remaining friends, a couple that was oddly called Stuff and Thang did a lot of busywork. Stuff was a stocky, short young woman with black hair streaked with purple. Thang, her slightly shorter very skinny boyfriend, was always nearby following her lead. Thang had a mop of curly brown hair over wandering brown eyes. He had a strangely misshapen jawline that caused one of his lower canines to jut out at an odd angle. One of the upper ones did the same. It caused him to slur his words. He was a little weird, and Marianne suspected he was dyslexic by the way he misread everything. They delivered tools and nails and filled in where needed. They were both really nice and polite.

  
That left Marianne as a floating helper. Bog found out she could read his plans clearly. He had her doing the rounds on half the projects to make sure they were going according to the plans. This freed him up to do more thorough overseeing of the other half.

  
Marianne realized that Bog was going to destroy his entire lawn to build this playground. There were two rows of buildings going up with an upraised plank walkway between them. Bog had explained that this was in case of rain so that it wouldn’t turn it into a muddy mess. The buildings were mainly walls with simple roofs here and there. They were oriented in an L shape that went from Bog’s garage on the side street to the front of his house. It stopped at the walkway to his front door.

  
The graveyard would take up the small strip of the yard on the other side of the walkway to Marianne’s property line. Marianne was amazed at the scope of the project and how fast it went up. The framework for the entire mini town was done by lunchtime. They had also put down floors and a full deck that ran around the front row of buildings.

  
Bog had cut out most of the signs that he intended to fix at the top of the buildings. He had everyone help paint the base coats. Walls would be going up next, then they would go back to the signs and use stencils for the various building names.

  
Kids began showing up and yelling at Mr. Bog how awesome his work looked. Marianne hadn’t realized there were so many kids in the neighborhood. Packs of children were drifting by the house. They looked at what was being built with increasing excitement as the day went on. Bog smiled at the kids and told them to come back on Saturday for hot dogs and lemonade.

  
This was such an odd side of Bogdan Laird. She would never have suspected him of being social with anyone but his small group of friends. He seemed to like to hide out in his house as much as she did. Then she realized he had more friends than she did. She talked to a few of her other neighbors but mostly kept to herself.

  
Bog and his friends seemed to be close. They worked well together, and there was occasional tomfoolery. Some of it even included Bog. Someone nailed his shirt to the decking when he sat down to take a break on an unfinished section. Bog started flailing around and cussing out everyone in sight. It was more entertaining than offensive.

  
Paint ended up on everyone, except Marianne. Nobody would touch her or mess with her. Her reputation was well known among the group. Stuff managed to trick Thang into asking Marianne if she would go out on a date with Bog. She did it under the pretense that Bog had asked Stuff to ask Thang to do it. Bog had been standing right next to Marianne with his back to her when he did it.

  
Marianne had been staring at Thang as the gawky young man had stammered out, “Bog wanted, wanted to know-”

  
“Stoooop!” Bog had spun around and almost knocked Marianne down to make him stop talking. Then he sent both Stuff and Thang off to help his mother.

  
When Bog’s friends were near Marianne and out of Bog’s earshot, they would whisper comments to her about him. Most of it was that Bog was a nice guy. He liked Marianne. He was afraid of her. He felt like she had saved his life over the summer with the incident. That one was surprising. It had never occurred to Marianne that if she had not gone outside to help him, he might have passed out somewhere unknown and died.

  
It made her feel guilty for judging him the way she had. He could have died? Her shy, sweet crazy neighbor, could have died if she had chosen to ignore him and went back to bed? The thought kept repeating itself as evening neared and most of their work was done. There was still painting to be done, but Bog would finish that the next day. Sunny and Dawn both volunteered to help.

-=-=-=-=-

Then the party began. Bog’s mother had been slow smoking ribs and full chickens in the backyard since early that morning. Now the back yard was lit up with ropes of golden lights. Tables had been set up to hold dinner, and it was laden with half a dozen side dishes and even more deserts. Bog’s mother had been as busy as them with baking and preparing for that night.

  
The music came on, and everyone was having a good time eating, talking, dancing, and relaxing after a hard day’s work. Marianne had often seen the lights. She knew these types of get-togethers were frequent for Bog and his friends. She had never been invited. There were bottles of wine set up on one table along with an assortment of beers and other drinks. Marianne planned to encourage Sunny and Dawn to leave soon. She didn’t want to be around a group of rowdy drunks.

-=-=-=-=-

“So, about my shirt.” Bog sat down on the porch seat swing next to Marianne. There were two swings, and the other one was occupied by Stuff and Thang. They were obnoxiously cute and snuggly. “I kinda need it back.”

  
Marianne smiled at Bog with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “Right now? You want me to take it off right now?”

  
“Just give it back to me tomorrow. Ye don’t even have to wash it. I’ll take care of it.” Bog took a drink of the bottled root beer in his hands.

  
“I should wash it.” Marianne grinned.

  
“There’s a specific way to wash it.” Bog didn’t look her in the eyes when he said it. It was an ordinary t-shirt. He had no intentions of washing it once he got it back from Marianne. “I only have a few shirts with printing on them because finding clothes that fit me just right isn’t easy or cheap.”

  
“I’ll check the label.”

  
“I would prefer to handle it.”

  
“Don’t you trust me?”

  
“No.”

  
“What? I heard that I saved your life!” Marianne shifted in the seat and closed the space between them. She bumped her shoulder against Bog’s. He flinched away from her and gave her a questioning look. His face took on a light shade of pink.

  
“Do ye know what it’s like to go out with yer friends, not even have any alcohol and be dropped off at home completely wasted?” Bog mumbled looking at everyone else in his backyard enjoying themselves. “Because I don’t remember anything about it. Ye do.” He paused in thought. “I seem to have a pattern of doing everything right and still ending up with a bad outcome.”

  
Despite Bog’s superior healing ability, substantial doses of drugs like GHB could kill him. It took more than normal, but it could have happened. In that case, it wasn’t the drug itself that was deadly. It would have been falling into any amount of water face down, or vomiting and suffocating. Any of those things could have happened if Marianne had not intervened.

  
“I’m sorry.” Marianne whispered. “I really am. I shouldn’t have treated you the way I did.”

  
“Doesn’t matter. Thank ye for helping out today. Now maybe ye can change out of my shirt and give it back?”

  
“Yeah.” Marianne slid off the swing. “I’ll go do that right now.” Bog got up to follow her inside. He wasn’t in the partying mood but wanted to stay around Marianne as long as she was in his home. She looked adorable in his shirt. Every time he had looked at her and seen it on her, it made him feel odd. Good, but odd.

-=-=-=-=-

Marianne handed Bog his neatly folded shirt. He nodded and headed to the stairs. “Going up to my room for a moment. Ye can stay here, go back out and enjoy the party or go on home.” Marianne couldn’t help but hear a sad tone in Bog’s voice. She chose option D and followed him up the stairs.

  
“What is your actual job, Bog?” Marianne glanced around at the top of the stairs.

  
“By yer standards, it’s not a real job.” Bog grumbled opening the door to his room. He threw the shirt onto a nearby dresser and closed the door, not wanting her to see inside.

  
“Your mom said you are a writer and illustrator? She was a little vague.” Marianne stood outside Bog’s studio, looking at the door. There was a do not disturb sign hanging from a hook in the middle of the door.

  
“Yeah. I write. I paint. I do a lot of commission work. I make good money from it, and ye can’t beat the hours.” Bog stood behind Marianne and put one hand on her shoulder. He was trying to push her away from the door and in the direction of the stairs.

  
“Can I see?” Marianne turned and looked up at him honestly wanting to see what he did.

  
“I don’t know.” Bog winced. He didn’t like telling people what he did, because it was a tiny bit embarrassing. He loved his work, but it felt weird explaining it to other people. It was personal to him.

  
“Please?” Marianne grinned.

  
“If ye promise not to laugh or make fun of me.” Bog’s blue eyes turned serious. Marianne realized that he was concerned about what she thought.

  
“I promise I won’t laugh.” Marianne smiled at him. “Do you illustrate comic books, because that would be awesome.”

  
“I wish.” Bog sighed and reached around her to turn the doorknob. Bog stepped inside ahead of Marianne and flipped the switch. The room lit up with far more color than Marianne had seen in the entire house. Three walls were a warm golden orange color. The fourth wall was black. Framed prints full of cheery subjects covered the walls. Most of them were dragons or dinosaurs. “You would be amazed at how much money there is in doing children’s books.” He was mumbling again. “Don’t touch my painting. I do both digital and traditional work.” There was an easel set up in the corner of the room over a drop cloth. The other half of the room had an impressive computer setup that would have made Sunny jealous. It was near the windows that would line up identically with Marianne’s studio.

  
“Wow.” This was the last thing Marianne had expected. This explained a lot. “You really like kids, don’t you?”

  
“They’re easy to please.” Bog shrugged. “They say what’s on their mind, no matter how ridiculous or embarrassing. Most of them are more honest than adults. It’s easier to talk to kids.”

  
“Kids can be bullies too.”

  
“Tell me about it.” Bog rolled his eyes and turned to leave. “The kids around here are good. I like Halloween because everyone gets to be a kid again, including me. I get to dress up and scare people, and it’s all in fun.”

  
Marianne followed Bog out of the studio and back into the hall. “Yeah, that is fun. I haven’t done it in years.”

  
“I’ll never have any kids, so this is the next best thing.” Bog headed to the stairs. “That and I never have to change a dirty diaper.” Marianne giggled at his very valid point. Bog stopped, and Marianne crashed into his back. Bog stumbled another step down the stairs. He caught the railing to avoid falling the rest of the way. She stood there for a moment wondering why Bog had stopped so fast. Then he began walking down the steps again to the front door.  
Someone was knocking on the door.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog opened the door to find precisely the kind of man he detested most fouling his doorstep. He was muscular with a square chin, wavy blond hair and light green eyes. The man was dressed in expensive clothes and Bog could see a BMW parked in front of his house. He was smiling, showing off a perfect set of pearly white teeth.

  
“I was just looking for your neighbor when I saw the lights on in your house. Is Marianne here?” He asked innocently enough. Marianne cringed, for the moment standing unseen behind Bog.

  
“Marianne?” Bog stared at the man.

  
“Yeah, I’m her boyfriend, Roland.”

  
Boyfriend? Of course, Marianne had a good looking boyfriend. There was no way she didn’t. Why hadn’t he ever seen him before? Bog stepped aside and invited him inside. “She’s here.” He realized his error the moment he turned to see Marianne come flying from the foot of the stairs. She took a swing at the man and missed.

  
“You are not my anything!” Marianne took a second swing, which Roland barely avoided.

  
“Whoa, whoa! Hold on there!” Roland backed further onto the porch. “I’m just here to talk! I miss you so much, Sweetie!” Marianne slammed the door closed, and Bog gave her a baffled look.

  
“See. Did what was right and I’m going to pay for it.” Bog groaned as he could hear the man calling out to Marianne on the other side of the door. He opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, closing it behind him so Marianne would get the hint not to follow. Marianne let him. A closed-door would keep her from ending up in the middle of another lawsuit.

  
“Obviously Marianne doesn’t want to see ye. Now, yer on my property and I don’t want any drama here. Only friends and family are allowed, and since I don’t know ye, ye aren’t invited.” Bog stood in front of the door, calmly talking.

  
“Oh? Are you her new boyfriend?” Roland gave Bog a skeptical look. There was no way that Marianne was with this guy. He was all arms and legs and wasn’t the least bit good looking. He did not compare to Roland in any way.

  
“No. I’m not. I’m her friend and neighbor.” Bog took a step, politely gesturing to Roland’s car. “Please leave.”

  
“I need to talk to Marianne.”

  
“It’s obvious she doesn’t want to talk to ye.”

  
“You don’t have anythin’ to do with this. I should be speakin’ with Marianne.”

  
“No.” Bog began walking toward Roland, hoping that he would back off if he saw him coming at him. Roland took a step back, then decided to see if Bog was bluffing him or not. Roland shoved Bog. The next thing Roland knew he was on his back in the grass. Bog had shoved him back and pushed him entirely off the porch. And now he was coming for him. Roland rolled to his feet. Bog jumped off the porch with both hands up in clenched fists. He stretched like a boxer about to go into a fight, rolling his shoulders to loosen them up.

  
Marianne stared from the window. She had not expected it to escalate like this. She had thought Bog’s size would be enough to scare off her coward of an ex. Marianne rushed to the door. Getting sued was one thing. Getting Bog sued was a completely different thing. Roland had already proven he enjoyed dragging people through the courts. He also had no problem tossing money around to get his desired outcome. She had to stop him!

  
“Bog!” Marianne jumped off the porch and grabbed his hand. She pulled back as hard as she could. Roland was on the ground again with a bloody nose. “He’s not worth it!”

  
“He hit me! He hit me!” Roland whined, grabbing his face and purposely wiping the blood over it to make the injury look worse.

  
“Oh, grow up, Roland!” Marianne yelled at him. “I have a restraining order against you! How do you think it’s going to look when I call the police and inform them that you stalked me to my neighbor’s house? And then picked a fight with him? I’ve been here all day! I have witnesses!”

  
Roland glanced from screaming Marianne to the man who looked like he wanted to eat him for dinner. He decided a strategic retreat was in order. “Okay, okay! I’ll leave.” Roland warily got up, unsure of how much control Bog had over himself. The man was furious, and the only thing holding him back was Marianne’s grip on his hand. Bog scowled and took another step forward, and Roland scrambled to get to his car.

  
Marianne wrapped her arms around Bog’s arm and hugged him tightly. He was trembling with rage and silent. “Hey, Bogdan. Step back. Calm down.” Bog didn’t begin to relax until Roland was out of sight. The words’ restraining order’ immediately triggered something in him. This man had done something awful to Marianne.

  
“You dated that creep?” Bog mumbled. “Why?”

  
“Mistakes were made.” Marianne groaned squeezing Bog’s arm tighter. “So many stupid mistakes. I am so sorry. You don’t deserve to have to deal with him.” She turned her face into Bog’s arm, and a choking sob escaped. “I’m going to have to move again if he comes back.”

  
“Why should ye have to move?” Bog turned and wrapped an arm around Marianne’s shoulders. She let go of his hand and slid her arms around his waist, leaning into his warm embrace. “Ye were minding yer own business.”

  
“Bog, the police won’t do anything to him unless he actually does something to me.” Bog lowered his head and looked off in the direction Roland had gone. None of this was right.

  
“Do what ye need to do to be safe, Marianne.” Bog scowled letting her go. He took a step back. He didn’t want any part of this situation. Marianne sighed and with her head down trudged back to her house. Bog fought the urge to follow after her and offer comfort.

  
“Marianne?” Bog started up his steps. “If ye need anything or feel like yer in danger, please come and get me or call me.” Marianne nodded in response but said nothing more. “Ye are always welcome in my home.”

-=-=-=-=-

Bog retreated to his room for a little quiet time before rejoining the party. Marianne. He had been the one to approve her as the sole human in the neighborhood. It was a way to keep the community from slipping up. If they knew a human was in their midst, it kept them vigilant. It was also good to have a good human among them for the kids’ sake.

  
Marianne had turned out to be different in several unexpected ways. First of all, she was almost a complete shut-in who didn’t get out. The addition of her two family members was a good thing in that regard. Two, the moment he saw her drive up, he was immediately drawn to her. That was a perk of his Lycean blood. A very annoying perk that everyone else got at a far younger age. But not him. There was no special person of his particular type he could be drawn to. Everyone around him was either Lycean or Atlantean, but none of them were equal to himself or his mother.

  
It was just his luck to be drawn to a human. It happened sometimes. There were many matches out there, and he had no idea how it worked. It had something to do with how they were created. They were supposed to match up with someone who would strengthen the bloodline. Bog was a King in that area. Royalty. A Rex Regis Lycean. His match would be equal to him. But that sense sometimes forgot about what was right for genetics, and a human could trigger it. Or an ugh… Arcadian… even worse… a Vampire.

  
He couldn’t pair up to an Atlantean or one of his own kind. It had to be a human. A fickle human who would doubt and not understand a Lycean’s loyalty. He didn’t want what she brought, but once it was at his doorstep, he had to accept it and do whatever he could for her. Bog shied away from Marianne because she came at him with so much anger. Every part of him told him to take care and let her do what she wanted to do and back down. His Lycean nature made him timid in Marianne’s presence. She was the woman who should have immediately loved him as much as he loved her. His brain knew why, but his body was confused.

  
Bog had tried to deny it since she moved in. But had settled into a state of being happy she was there and hoping she wouldn’t move. Just having that feeling nearby, even though he could never act on, it was comforting. As long as she lived next door, there would always be a tiny sliver of opportunity. Yet he knew he should not cling to it if her life ended up being in danger. She needed to be safe. That was more important than being happy.

  
Bog sighed and sat up, running a hand over his face. He was far too ugly to be loved by a human. This was also what terrified him about Marianne. That certain rejection. She wasn’t serious. She was playing with him.

  
But she had felt so warm in the brief moments she was in his arms. Marianne had touched him without hesitation. She had hugged him. She smelled so good. Then he remembered his shirt. Bog bounced up to retrieve it off the dresser and pressed it to his face inhaling. Scent held so much information. Being able to smell her after all these months was amazing. The best part of it was that the shirt had been off of her before that Roland jerk showed up. There was no fear scent. It was all relaxed and a few other perplexing scents that were exciting. Lyceans lived by smell, and Marianne was an open book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That part with Bog's shirt was so darn random on Marianne's part. She just PICKED IT UP and ran off with it before I could stop her.  
When I selected what Bog did for a job it was more about giving him something that wasn't remotely 'manly'. It was also when I was writing a story that wasn't supposed to be more than 20,000 words in length... yeah... that ship sailed.... and his job comes into play in the future. I gave everyone creative jobs for a reason.  
I hope you like it! 
> 
> Comments are food.


	3. October 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marianne hasn't had a lot of sleep over the last week. Bog's a little worried about his neighbor but doesn't know what to do about it. His mother has a suggestion.
> 
> Date night! Ok, not really a date, just a neighbor inviting the girl next door he's in love with over for dinner and a movie. Nothing could possibly go wrong with this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Frequent posting now commences. There will be an update tomorrow as well.

**October 8th**

Marianne couldn’t help but cry herself to sleep, or as close to sleep as she got that night. Every night afterward was the same. She didn’t tell Sunny or Dawn what had happened. She called her contact in the police department to let them know that Roland knew where she lived. As usual, they recorded the incident and told her to call if he actually got into her house.

  
For days she was on edge. She hid in her house and tried to go on like everything was normal. She was too embarrassed to talk to Bog. She began working out again, preparing for the inevitable. Marianne could defend herself, but Roland was bigger than she was. He was stronger, faster, and vicious. His bloodline gave him physical enhancements that normal men did not have. He was a coward, but he chose the battles he actually had to fight and surrounded himself with more capable men.

  
Yet Marianne had far more abilities than he had. Abilities that would completely destroy the house she had a mortgage on. She had to keep those abilities in check unless necessary. They were best used out in the open, not in the confines of her home.

  
Sunny and Dawn spent a lot of time next door when they weren’t working. They always told Marianne that Bog asked about her and that she was welcome to join them. In the back of Marianne’s mind, she knew she couldn’t take the chance of Roland spying on her and seeing her at Bog’s house. Staying away from him was the safest for both of them.

  
It was an overwhelming thing to have so much power and feel so vulnerable. Marianne would defend herself with everything she had. The bigger problem was when the attack would come. Roland knew what she could do, and he would come prepared. This might even be part of his plan. Marianne was exhausted.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Bog was sulking more than usual. Bog’s mother smiled and sat across from him, drinking a cup of tea. Usually, when she called him to join her, he would converse about work and this or that idea he had for a book. Sometimes he would bring his mother some cute little piece of fan mail he had received. He usually used it as a way to show her that she kind of had grandchildren all over the world.

  
“Bog, why don’t you go over to Marianne’s house and invite her over for dinner tonight?” His mother was smiling at him like she was up to something. It was a familiar smile. “I think she likes you.”

  
“No, mom. Not a good idea.” Bog dismissed the suggestion. “I don’t even see the point in it.”

  
“You’ve had a crush on that girl since she moved in.”

  
“I have not.”

  
“I saw the way you were looking at her.”

  
“Mother. Please.” Bog buried his head in his hands. “She’ll find out.”

  
“You can go your entire life without her finding out, and you know it.” His mother was persistent and had a point. “I kept it from your father.”

  
“Oh yes, until I ruined that.” Bog groaned and threw his arms and legs out to sink further into his chair.

  
“You did not ruin anything, Bog.”

  
“Dad died because of me.” Bog mumbled.

  
“He did not. I don’t know why you keep telling yourself that. That’s not what happened.”

  
“That’s how I remember it. Please drop it, Mom.”

  
“Go invite her for dinner, or I will.” There was a hint of threat in his mother’s voice. “And I’ll do it on your birthday and tell her what day it is so, so she’ll be sure to fuss over you!”

  
“Mother!” Bog sank further into his chair.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“Uhm. My mom would like to know if ye would come over for dinner tonight. She’s making lasagna.” Bog stood on Marianne’s porch in front of her closed door, talking to himself. “Would ye like to come over tonight for dinner? We’re having lasagna?” He repeated it several more times.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“Hey, Marianne. Bog’s standing on the porch talking to himself. He’s so weird.” Dawn glanced through the side window and was watching him through the blinds. Marianne was sitting on the couch, working on her laptop. Dawn giggled. “You better open the door before he loses his nerve and walks away.”

  
Marianne sighed and set her laptop aside. If Bog was standing there, she had a feeling he wanted to talk to her. Marianne opened the door, and Bog stared down at her for a moment in surprise.

  
“Lasagna.”

  
“Lasagna?” Marianne gave him a confused look.

  
“Tonight?” Bog seemed to be stuck on one-word sentences.

  
“Tonight?”

  
Both Sunny and Dawn burst into laughter, looking at each other, and repeating. “Lasagna!” Marianne shot them a dirty look and stepped out on the porch with Bog. She closed the door behind her, so Dawn and Sunny wouldn’t hear them.

  
“Bog? Are you okay?” She touched his hand. Then she wrapped her fingers around his loosely. The gesture was jarring, but Bog didn't pull away.

  
“My mom wanted me to invite ye for lasagna tonight.” Bog found his words.

  
“Just your mom?” Marianne raised an eyebrow at Bog.

  
“I would like it if ye would join me for dinner tonight.” He whispered as though afraid someone might hear him. “Just ye and me. Maybe watch a movie at my house?”

  
“That sounds suspiciously like a date.” Marianne gave him a confused look. “I don’t date. Dating leads to stupid things like Roland.” Bog looked mortified, then wholly crushed. His shoulders sagged, and he nodded.

  
“It’s okay.” Then he turned from her, pulling his hand away from hers. Marianne fidgeted. Bog was not Roland.

  
“No, wait. I’ll have dinner with you and watch a movie as friends.” Marianne grinned as Bog turned and flashed an awkward smile back at her. It was one of those cute self-conscious smiles where his lips were parted enough to see his teeth showing.

  
“That’s all I wanted.” Bog stood taller and looked relieved. “I don’t have any desire for more than that. Watching Stuff and Thang and yer sister and Sunny is enough. I don’t even understand why they go through with it.”

  
“I agree,” Marianne smirked. “I’m done with that garbage. Who needs it. I certainly don’t. That’s how I ended up with the R-word!”

  
“The R-word?” Bog laughed. “Is that how we refer to that idiot?”

  
“I have far nastier words, but I don’t think your mom would like to hear them.” Marianne had the sneaky suspicion that Bog’s mother was lurking nearby in her yard.

  
“Yeah, uh, don’t swear in front of my mom!” Bog turned serious. “She’ll wash yer mouth out with soap!” Bog and Marianne stared at each for a moment, then both broke into hysterical laughter.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Marianne knew she was playing with fire, but she wanted to do it anyway. She liked lasagna, and all Sunny and Dawn cooked came out of cans or involved bread and cheese. The two of them had no imagination when it came to meal preparation.

  
She also liked being around Bog. She could be friends with a guy she found attractive in so many ways. She had never had a friendly relationship turn into a dating one. Marianne then told herself she also never had a lot of friends in general. Every date she had been on had been a blind date. That included the one set up by her father with Roland that set off their relationship.

  
Marianne had Dawn help her with her hair. Dawn had ways of managing her sister’s thick wild hair that Marianne could not understand. She opted for a loose red sweater and jeans. It was very casual. Then Dawn caught her off guard and spritzed her with one of her perfumes. Marianne had been annoyed by that. She wasn’t trying to impress Bog. Really. She wasn’t.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Bog answered the door in similar casual attire. He was wearing a white t-shirt, which surprised Marianne. She thought his wardrobe only consisted of black with a scattering of dark colors here and there. He was wearing jeans and black Skechers. That was also surprising because usually, he was barefoot. His hair was neat and brushed back, and his face was clean-shaven, bringing out all the sharp lines and angles.

  
Marianne was silent when Bog stepped aside with a smile and welcomed her to his home. The white t-shirt and jeans were what did it all for her. She had to put a lot of effort in not staring at him. Everything about him made her feel warm inside. Classically handsome, he was not, but every little difference made him more unique. He was attractive in other ways. There was nothing artificial about Bog. And his voice? It was warm and friendly with that light Scottish accent. She could listen to him talk for hours.

  
This was a mistake.

  
Marianne pushed a surge of panic down. Her brain was screaming at her that she was far too interested in Bog.

  
This was a mistake!

  
She should not have come here. A voice inside repeated that statement. Bog was so nice and polite. Bog treated her with respect.

  
Marianne resisted the urge to touch him. He was so close. She wanted to reach out and just lay her hand on his chest and make sure he was real. Her mind was full of conflict. Her heart was leading her along a reckless path.

  
Bog turned to lead her to the dining room, moving with confidence and grace that she hadn’t seen before. He was shy toward her, but there was something to him that she couldn’t understand. Some kind of energy rolled off of him. Bog pulled out a chair for her at the table. It was set up nicely for dinner with lasagna, caesar salad, and garlic bread already on the table. A pitcher of iced tea with lemon was sitting on the table as well.

  
Marianne moved in a daze, close enough she could smell his pleasant natural smell. She caught the disappointing added scent of cologne or aftershave. It wasn’t strong, but it disrupted the more personal scent. Bog sat across from her with a smile. Marianne found her eyes wandering to the way the fabric settled over his shoulders and torso.

  
Bog was having a similar staring issue. Marianne’s red sweater, a conservative look that revealed nothing, made him smile. It looked nice and cute on her. Her lovely golden brown hair had been tamed for the evening. Bog would have loved to run his hands through her hair and feel how thick it was. Look into her warm brown eyes. Kiss her beautiful lips. Bog shook that thought away. No. Do not go there. Do not think about things you can not have. This was not a date. This was being a friend to a neighbor who needed one.

  
The dinner was fun and relaxed. There were a few moments of silence. Then Bog asked Marianne what she did for work since she already knew what he did. Marianne was a graphic designer. She had a wide variety of professional clients and a steady stream of work. Bog already knew what Marianne did, but didn’t want to let onto that little fact. She didn’t need to know that he had her full work history in his hands before she had even moved in.

  
“So, since ye don’t think my job’s a real job since I can be up past midnight, how is yers a real job when ye can have the same hours?” Bog had smiled at her as he asked. That night she had yelled at him about having a real job continually came back to haunt her.

  
“I didn’t have any idea what you did.” Marianne had blushed, hoping he wouldn’t press the issue.

  
But he did. “What kind of job did ye think I had?”

  
“I don’t know.” Marianne squirmed. “I am sorry I said that.”

  
“What kind of job?” Now Bog was really curious.

  
“I don’t know. Maybe a personal trainer? Bartender? A guy with a huge amount of inherited money and no job?”

  
Bog laughed. “I hope the reality wasn’t a letdown.”

  
“Oh, no. You have a lot of skill.” Marianne grinned. His laugh was a pleasant hearty laugh.

  
“Thank ye.” Bog’s cheeks were tinged with pink at the compliment.

  
They enjoyed their dinner with brief moments of idle chatting. It was relaxed and not at all like a real date. Or maybe, this was what dates should have been like if Marianne had been with the right person. Bog’s mother would come in every few minutes, asking if they needed anything, then scurry off to the kitchen.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

They ended up on a comfortable couch in the Laird’s den watching a recent werewolf movie. Bog and Marianne started out on opposite ends with a large bowl of popcorn between them. As the night progressed, the bowl moved onto the table, and they were sitting closer to each other. It had gradually happened over the last hour. One of them would subtly move a tiny bit closer to the center of the couch when they thought the other wasn’t looking. Then the other would do the same when they thought the other wasn’t looking.

  
“I like this one because the werewolf isn’t the bad guy.” Bog leaned over and whispered to Marianne.

  
“Yeah, but they have that stupid psychic connection between the werewolf and her boyfriend! That’s so overdone!” Marianne groaned. Her shoulder hit Bog’s, and he didn’t flinch away.

  
“It is, but imagine being able to know the one you’re supposed to be with. Without all the doubts and wrong choices.” Bog dared to lean against her. “That would make life so much easier.” It would have. That was the way it was supposed to be, but no, he had to be in love with a human who would worry about those very things.

  
“It would, but that’s not reality,” Marianne smirked. “Why exactly did you pick out a romantic monster movie?”

  
“The Shape of Moonlight had good reviews.” Bog shrugged. “I like it. The romance isn’t the driving factor. The story is.”

  
“He’s going to end up rescuing her, isn’t he?”

  
“Fighting next to someone isn’t the same as rescuing them, Marianne.” Bog smiled and shifted closer to Marianne. She did the same. They were sitting by side by side now with their shoulders touching. They sat in silence, staring at the tv. Bog was successfully fighting off the urge to put this arm on the back of the couch above Marianne’s head. Every part of him wanted to be even closer to her. He hadn’t realized how starved he was for casual physical contact. It wasn’t that he dared to imagine kissing or hugging her. He just wanted to feel her warmth next to him. It was also exciting that she wasn’t moving away from him.

  
He had spent decades convincing himself he didn’t need it because he couldn’t have it in the first place. A few attempts at relationships when he was younger had sworn him off of the entire process. He couldn’t compete, so he took himself out of the competition entirely. He could look and not pursue. It was safer that way.

  
Marianne was different. Even when she had been angry with him, she never looked revolted. There were brief moments of eye contact that were confusing. Habit told him to be cautious. His head told him to be wary. His heart had other plans and encouraged him to respond to her.

  
“Why do these movies all have teenagers in them? Why don’t they ever make these movies with people in their thirties and forties?” Marianne began picking at the movie. “It’s like nobody falls in love unless they’re 20 or under!”

  
“Probably because those of us old people know better.” Bog grunted in amusement.

  
Marianne went quiet. Then she shifted, mumbling something like, “You’re warm.” She sighed, and Bog suddenly found her head resting against his chest. Her left hand ended up laying limply on his stomach while her right landed on his leg. She wasn’t watching the movie anymore. He lifted his arm as she made herself comfortable. Having nowhere else to put his arm, he dropped it around her and let his hand fall on top of hers. He gently moved the hand on his leg closer to her head. She curled her fingers inside his.

  
Bog was baffled by what was happening, and his heart began racing in panic. After a few minutes, Bog realized that Marianne had fallen asleep. Now he was stuck with her and unsure what to do. He didn’t want to wake her up but at the same time, wasn’t sure how happy she was going to be if she woke up like this. He decided to continue watching the movie and was glad the remote was close at hand. Bog lowered the sound and enjoyed Marianne’s warmth against him.  
This was nice. Bog needed this as much as Marianne appeared to need sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a suspicion that Bog's mother is responsible for that white t-shirt. :D


	4. October 9th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marianne spends the night with Bog, on his couch, unintentionally. Sunny and Dawn come looking for her and Bog has questions. So many questions.
> 
> And he gets answers he does not want to get.
> 
> This chapter contains a graphic description of abuse as a warning. It's not very long and it's just a description of a photo, but it could be troubling to some.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story updated yesterday as well. Be sure to read that one first! The next update is on October 12th.

These headers are my inktober pieces and wow. This one came out so nice. Inked by hand with a brush, touched up in Clip Studio Paint.

**October 9th**

Marianne ran her hand over her pillow, snuggling into its warmth. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the comforting smell beneath her. Then she heard someone giggling. It sounded suspiciously like Dawn. What was her sister doing in her room? Marianne gripped her pillow with the intent to throw it at Dawn. Suddenly her entire bed was moving and yelling in pain.

  
“Ow ow ow! Retract yer claws!” Bog grabbed Marianne’s wrist. She had sunk her fingernails into his chest, thinking it was her pillow. It took a moment for Marianne to relax and let him go, then she blinked at him in confusion. She looked so tired.

  
“Marianne needs coffee in the morning to function properly.” Dawn plopped down next to Marianne and grinned at Sunny, who was taking pictures with his phone.

  
“I want copies of every one.” Bog’s mother was standing in the doorway in a bathrobe with a smile that spread from ear to ear.

  
Bog looked at Marianne groggily, then at Dawn, then on to Sunny and his mother. “Oh, no.” Bog groaned. “We just fell asleep on the couch. Don’t any of ye start on us!”

  
“We got worried when you didn’t come home last night, Marianne.” Dawn leaned against her sister and patted her on the shoulder.

  
“Go away, Dawn.” Marianne batted at Dawn’s hand, trying to get her to leave her alone. “I’m trying to sleep.” Bog gently scooted out from under Marianne. She fell on the couch and snuggled into the cushions.

  
“Out you two, out.” Bog grabbed Dawn by the wrist and Sunny by the shoulder. He wasn’t trying to be rough, but he was annoyed at them. He shot a dirty look at his mother, who had let them in. “Let her sleep if she wants to.” Bog let them go and closed the door so no one could disturb Marianne.

  
Bog took a deep breath. “Has Marianne been sleeping at all since the party? Did she tell you what happened?”

  
Sunny and Dawn stared at Bog. “What happened at the party?” Dawn looked worried.

  
“She didn’t tell you that Roland showed up?” Bog whispered and made a shooing motion with his hands.

  
“What?!” Dawn squeaked in horror.

  
“I made him leave.” Bog urged the three of them down the hall and into the dining room. “But she didn’t tell ye?”

  
“No, she didn’t.” Sunny frowned.

  
“I’ll make some coffee.” Bog’s mother went on into the kitchen.

  
“No coffee for Marianne.” Bog stated. Then he turned to Dawn and Sunny and recounted what had happened when Roland arrived. By the time he was done, the color had drained from both of their faces.

  
“This is really bad.” Dawn whimpered.

  
“Marianne mentioned that ye might all have to move.” Bog ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “I, uh, I don’t want ye to have to move.”

  
“What are we going to do?” Sunny scooted his chair closer to Dawn and wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer to him.

  
“Well, first of all, ye better delete all those photos you took.” Bog glared at Sunny. “Then, when Marianne has had enough sleep, we are going to have a discussion. I am fine with her staying here for now if ye trust me.”

  
“Yeah, we do.” Dawn nodded. “I should call Daddy.”

  
“If he can help, do it.”

  
“Marianne’s not going to like that,” Sunny warned Dawn. Then he turned to Bog to explain. “Their father was upset when Marianne decided not to marry Roland. He picked Roland out as the perfect husband for Marianne. Their father had to fire him after Roland sued Marianne for breaking his leg. He couldn’t believe that he was the type who would seriously try to uh... abuse his fiancee. He believed Roland’s excuse that he was roofied.”

  
“That is why she was still mad at me when I told her what happened to me.” Bog made a face, putting everything together. “I have an actual medical report.”

  
“So did he,” Dawn stated.

  
Bog stared at the table for a moment, not sure if he wanted to ask. He was angry enough as it was. “Did he, did he hit her?” Dawn pulled out her phone and after a moment, handed it to Bog. He stared at the picture on the phone and slammed a fist into the table so hard it shook.

  
It was a photo of a furious Marianne glaring into the camera. Her hair was a mess and a little longer than it was now. The left side of her face was one substantial bruise that covered her cheek all the way to her forehead. Her eye was swollen shut. There were more bruises and cuts on the right side. Her lips were swollen, and her nose was red. She was holding up both hands, palms out. There were dark reddish-purple bruises on her wrists. Bog could see the outlines where fingers had dug in. She had more purple marks up and down her arms.

  
“Why, why isn’t that monster in jail?” Bog stammered, staring at the photo. “Did, did he…?” He didn’t want to ask, but at the same time, had to know. He needed to know exactly what level of wrath he could morally justify taking out on Roland if he ever saw him again.

  
“No. Marianne broke his leg,” Dawn shook her head no. “We think he paid off the judge.”

  
Bog flipped the phone around, so he didn’t have to look at the photo any longer, then he scooted it across the table to Dawn. He crossed his arms on the table and leaned his head on them in silence. No wonder Marianne was acting like she was. In the photo, she had a look of pure defiance and anger. That was at the end of her successfully fighting off an attack. Right now, she was afraid it was going to happen again, and she wasn’t going to be able to stop him. It wasn’t difficult for Bog to figure it out. She was a strong woman, but her vigilance had worn her down. Marianne needed help, and she wasn’t going to ask for it.

  
“Go on home. I’ll bring Marianne over when she wakes up, and we can talk.” Bog sighed and got up. “Call yer dad, Dawn.”

-=-=-=-=-

Marianne was so tired out she slept most of the day. When the caffeine had worn off the previous evening, she had immediately crashed. The delicious and heavy lasagna didn’t help. Then there was how warm and secure she felt with Bog. Her subconscious had made the decision that she could trust Bog. Something about him made her feel safe enough she was able to fall asleep. She was so worn out she couldn’t fight it.

  
Bog checked on Marianne frequently. He would talk to her for a few minutes and see if she responded, then leave. He didn’t want to do anything that would upset her or wake her up too early. After seeing the photo, Bog felt the need to comfort Marianne any way he could, but he kept his distance. She needed sleep more than anything else.

-=-=-=-=-

Marianne yawned and sat up. She was completely disoriented and having a hard time figuring out where she was. Marianne had been awake for a few minutes when Bog came to check on her. He kept the lights dimmed and brought her a glass of water. He had brought her water every time he checked on her in case she might be awake.

  
“I’m sorry, Bogdan.” Marianne accepted the glass and looked embarrassed. “What time is it?”

  
“Six in the evening.” Bog sat down next to her. “How do ye feel?”

  
“Better,” Marianne mumbled. “I am so sorry. I hope I didn’t cause you any problems.”

  
“Yer dad’s been working on yer house.”

  
“My … dad?” Marianne looked astonished. “He hasn’t spoken to me in almost a year. What is he-oh no.” Marianne facepalmed. “Dawn called him, didn’t she?”

  
“He’s uh,… apologetic. Ready to go over to yer house? We’ve been working on making it more secure, and I’m going to keep an eye on you until your R-word is dealt with.” Bog paused, “I can come over anytime ye want me to if ye ever feel unsafe or just want company.”

  
“Okay.” Marianne sighed.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog had met Marianne’s father earlier in the day. He wasn’t as awful as Bog expected. Bog managed to not say anything about what he knew. He was angry but patient enough to keep his mouth shut. The man he met was upset that Roland had tracked Marianne down. He was a father worried about his daughter.

  
Marianne’s father had introduced himself as Lucas Summers. He thanked Bog for encouraging Dawn to contact him about the Roland issue. He didn’t tell Bog what it was their family did, but he arrived with a crew of people. They swarmed over Marianne’s house marking off the best areas to put cameras. Within hours they had installed a full security system.

  
The locks were changed on every door, and more were added. Men were in and out of the house all day. Bog saw them replacing some of the doors with more secure ones. Bog didn’t like the cameras all over the place, but it was for his neighbor’s safety, so he kept his mouth shut on that matter.

  
“Marianne!” Lucas had been so excited to see his less than enthusiastic daughter. Bog had stood aside as he met her with a hug. Marianne stiffened for a moment, then sighed and smiled, hugging her father back. “I am so sorry this is happening to you. We’ll do what we can to keep you safe until we can get you moved.”

  
“Dad. I appreciate the help, but I am not moving.” Marianne glanced at Bog. “I like it here.”

  
“Ye should do what keeps ye safe.” Bog grumbled, turning and walking away. Marianne’s safety was more important than anything else. He repeated it over and over to himself as he walked to his house. Bog walked past a group of children playing in his front yard. They were laughing and running in and out of the little ghost town enjoying themselves. They were completely unaware of the awfulness of the world. Bog sighed and sat down on his porch.

  
During October, Bog could hear the kids laughing and playing for the entire month in what he had created. It made him happy to know he had made them happy and a little less lonely. Unfortunately, night had to fall, and the kids would go home.

  
Bog watched the children sadly, realizing that night was falling. It had been a short day in his life, but it had been long enough he was going to miss not being lonely. He would miss her.


	5. October 12th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marianne begins digging into Bog's work and finds out a lot about him through it. Bog has a great idea for helping Marianne relax! It involves wooden swords. Unfortunately, Marianne has a surprise for him too.

**October 12**

Lucas Summers stayed in the house for several days, and Bog stayed away. He half expected Marianne and her family to move in the middle of the night.  
They didn't.

  
Bog raised all the window blinds in his studio. His computer desk was near the wall that faced Marianne's studio. He could see the lights coming on in the evening and early morning through her blinds. She didn't notice he had opened his. The blinds to Marianne's studio remained closed. Their homes were mirror image layouts, and Bog had a good view of the side of her house and the backyard. At night he kept an eye out. If anything, the fact that he was in sight would deter people from trying to get into her house from the back.

-=-=-=-=-=-=

Marianne didn't want to bother Bog unless it was necessary. The cameras put her at ease. There was no sign of Roland, and she had returned to her usual daily schedule. Life was beginning to take on a semblance of normalcy. Maybe Roland wouldn't come back. If he didn't, she had made up her mind that she was going to be more friendly to her neighbor. If he did, Marianne didn't want Bog involved in any way. She had to protect him from this mess she had brought to his doorstep.

  
Meanwhile, she dug around for Bog’s work online. She remembered several of his book titles and tracked them down. They were all fanciful, colorful creations. There was a sense of joy and happiness in them she had never seen in her neighbor. It looked like those emotions were only reserved for what he created.

  
Marianne had ordered a dozen of his books, and they arrived within a couple of days. She sat in her studio and studied the books. Bogdan Laird was the name on the books as the illustrator. Most of them were large picture books. Some had been written by him. Marianne was surprised the books weren't as simple as they looked. Bog had a very strong, I hate princesses theme running through his most popular books. He wrote a lot about princesses.

  
You can learn a lot about a person by looking at what they created. The simple books full of colorful illustrations were eye-opening. Dragons danced with a princess. She had run away from home because she didn't want to be a princess. She wanted to be a dragon. A spoiled girl who mistreated an awkward boy was turned into a dragon. The abused boy ended up having to save her from her fate by being her friend. Dinosaurs frolicked through a modern setting. They were set alive by a boy's imagination, helping him get over his father's death.

  
Friendly werewolves twisted the Red Riding Hood tale into an entirely new story. The little red hooded girl took advantage of the wolves' kindness when she was lost in the forest. The wolves saved her from a situation she put herself in that endangered them. By the time Marianne was done with the pile of books, she felt awful. She was in tears. That wasn't how someone should feel while reading books meant for children.

  
Each story unfolded with colorful pages and simple prose. Most began with someone who didn't fit in the world they were born into. They searched for a place to belong or found people who accepted them for who they were. It didn't matter if that person was a princess, a prince, or a random child. Anyone could be out of place, but there was always a place for them by the end.

  
Another theme had to do with not judging things by their appearances. Monsters could be kind and sweet. The most beautiful fairy was cold and cruel. Vicious looking werewolves cuddled up next to lost children to keep them safe. She noticed Bog enjoyed that type of image. Dangerous creatures protected the sweet and innocent. Dragons, werewolves, dinosaurs. They always protected children.

  
When Marianne was done reading all the books, she had a strong desire to get up, go next door and give Bog a massive hug. A kiss. Maybe another hug, then revisit that kissing thing. She felt her face heating up as the thoughts lingered, and she considered it.

No. That wouldn't be fair to Bog or herself if she ended up having to move. She got a clear impression of him that he was afraid of being hurt in a relationship. Just like she was. She had thought Roland was a kind guy who loved her and would never harm her. Roland had betrayed her in such a violent way, it destroyed all of her ability to trust another man. There was no warning. One moment they were arguing, the next she saw stars and was on the floor kicking and screaming to get him off of her.

  
Marianne still couldn't remember breaking his leg. She had landed a hard kick on his leg when it became wedged between the living room furniture. If she had not hit him in just the right spot to stop him, he could have killed her. Or worse. She ran her hands up her arms and tried to rid herself of the thoughts. Remembering made her heart race and body tremble. She took a deep breath and went through her routine of calming herself. She couldn't live her life in fear of Roland. She was going to have to do something more than what she had done. Marianne needed to be prepared.

-=-=-=-=-=-=

Bog smiled when he met the mail delivery man at the door. He took a large, heavy package inside. Bog unwrapped it to make sure that it was what he had ordered then put it back in its box. He ran upstairs to retrieve a couple of heavy-duty training swords made out of wood. He left the protective headgear and padding behind. There wouldn't be a need for it for casual beginner play fighting. He gathered everything up and headed next door.

  
Over the last few days, Bog had decided he was going to be friendlier with his neighbor if she didn't leave. He had a few things in mind that would provide an excellent way to interact with her. No actual socializing was required. This was the first idea.

  
Bog was accosted by several kids in his ghost town when he left his house. They pretended to shoot him with their finger pistols. Bog died a dramatic death in his little graveyard.

-=-=-=-=-=-=

Marianne answered the door with a perplexed look on her face. Bog didn't say anything and walked inside. "Bog?" Marianne closed the door, locked it, and gave him an odd look.

  
"So I thought if yer not busy, I'd show ye something fun I like to do to loosen up." Bog looked around for somewhere to lay the items he had brought down. "If ye aren't busy."

  
Marianne eyed the items. "I have a few minutes." Was he going to have her play with toy swords?

  
"Okay. Let's go out into yer back yard. Don't want to break anything." Bog grinned at Marianne, and she smiled back. Oh, he had assumptions! Assumptions that Marianne was about to completely destroy. This was going to be fun. Likely more fun than Bog had planned.

-=-=-=-=-=-=

Marianne's backyard wasn't as big as Bog's. It was surrounded by a six-foot-high privacy fence and missing a few boards here and there. There wasn't a lot in her backyard. A small patio set was on the back deck, which didn't have a cover. There were a few trees near the back. Big trees that were able to support a hammock.

  
A hammock that appeared to be occupied. Bog made a face. Apparently, Sunny and Dawn were taking a nap together in the crisp autumn afternoon. He decided to ignore them and placed the weapons and the box on the small patio table. Marianne was grinning at Bog in a way that was mildly unsettling as she poked at one of the practice swords. Then she went for the box.

  
"No. Don't touch that. That's for later." Bog moved in to stop her.

  
"Oh, come on! What's in the box?!" Marianne danced around him and grabbed for the box.

  
"Later." Bog grumbled, lifting it over her head. "This is for later." He put it back down and picked up one of the training swords. He handed it to Marianne. She grabbed it in both hands, then swung it around to hold it by the bladed end.

  
"This end?" Marianne swung the sword around awkwardly. Bog made a perplexed face at her. She tripped on a loose stone on her patio and fell on her butt. "Ow." That hadn't been planned.

"Ye hold it like this." Bog offered her a hand up while showing the proper way to hold the training sword in his other hand. "This is the grip."

  
Marianne got to her feet and held her sword correctly, but gave Bog a questioning look, purely for his benefit. "Grip. Got it. Pointy end goes that way."

  
"Yeaaaah." Bog pointed out the base. "This is the guard." He pointed to it, taking his eyes off of Marianne. "It protects yer hands." Marianne wanted to smack the sword out of Bog's hands so bad, but she restrained herself. "We're just messing around, so don't try to hit me, because it hurts and I will hit ye back. Ye don't get a free pass because yer a girl."

  
"I don't?" Marianne stuck her lower lip out in a pout, and Bog could feel his brain turn to mush. The look in her eyes told him there was a possibility he had made an error. He wasn't sure what the error was.

  
"No, ye don't, Tough Girl," Bog grunted, pointing at her with his sword. "So, let's go into the grass." At that point, Bog heard giggling come from the hammock and talking. He turned his back to them. Marianne saw both Dawn and Sunny peek over the edge of the hammock. She shook her head at them and mouthed the word NO. Bog made a face at Marianne and glanced over his shoulder. Dawn and Sunny were now sitting up in the hammock, watching them with eager looks on their faces.

  
"So let's begin. Do I hit at you?" Marianne swung her sword wildly at Bog. She had her left hand on top under the hilt and her right immediately below it. She followed up with a stabbing motion. Bog jogged back and scowled.

  
"Yer holding it wrong. See, like this." He held his sword up to show his hand placement. "Right hand under the hilt. Left hand at the base of the grip above the pommel."

  
"Oh." Marianne moved her hands and flexed her fingers around the grip.

  
"And don't stab at me." Bog took up the ready position, turned toward Marianne with his sword out to defend or attack. "Come at me slowly. Ye'll get the idea." There was giggling coming from the hammock again.

  
"Stand like that? Come at you?" Marianne grinned at the sword, then looked up at Bog with an expression that made his blood run cold. "I'm comin' straight on for you!"

  
Bog didn't know what hit him. First, his sword was knocked from his hands so fast that it spun freely and hit him in the face. Then Marianne rammed into his gut with her shoulder. Bog crashed into the ground. Marianne stood over Bog with her foot on his shoulder, holding the point of her sword to his face. "Is that all you've got?" She smirked down at him. Bog blinked at her in amazement. Then he became aware that the left side of his face was hot, and something wet and warm was dripping down it.

  
"Oh, no." Marianne dropped her sword and fell to her knees next to Bog. She grabbed his head and turned it so she could see. Blood was streaming from a gash on Bog's face, and the area around it was bright red.

  
"Is it bad?" Bog winced. Marianne pulled the hem of her shirt up and dabbed at the blood.

  
'I am so sorry! I'll drive you to the hospital! That's going to need stitches!" Marianne grabbed his hand and tried to pull Bog up.

  
"Nah, my mom'll take care of it. Get me something to hold over it, so I don't drip blood all over your house." Bog brushed his hands off as he got up. He leaned over to let the blood drip off his face onto the ground. He didn’t want to get any on his clothes. Marianne ran inside to find something to help stop the bleeding.

  
"That looks awful! Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Dawn and Sunny ran up to Bog to get a better look at what Marianne had done.

  
"We should have warned you." Sunny glanced at the back door. "Marianne competed in HEMA for a few years."

  
"HEMA?" Bog stared at them like they were speaking a foreign language.

  
"Historical European Martial Arts," Dawn explained. "Real competitions where they fight with long swords. She wasn't particularly great at it, but uh, yeah… good enough."

  
Bog smirked, then he tilted his head toward the ground and began laughing. Sunny and Dawn stared at him, hoping he was okay. "Did she hit your head?"

  
"No. I'm fine, just losing a lot of blood." Bog smiled and stared at the growing pool of blood in the grass beneath him. It was dripping in an almost steady stream. Marianne came running out of the house with a clean cloth and held it out to Bog.

  
"I am so sorry!" Marianne reached out and touched Bog's shoulder. He took the cloth and pressed it to his face and held it there.

  
"That was not nice, Marianne." He scowled at her, then it slowly turned into a smirk. "If ye wanted to actually fight, I would have brought my padding out for us."

  
"I don't think I want to do that again with or without padding." Marianne worried her lower lip. "Please, let me take you to the hospital! I'll pay for it!"

  
"Nah, I'll be fine." Bog walked toward her back door. "Better follow me in case I drip anything." Bog detoured to retrieve the box with his free hand. "Not leaving this here. I bet ye'd peek."

-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Mom!" Bog set the box down on the bench in his entry and closed the door behind him. "I need ye to get out yer sewing kit."

  
"Why? What did you rip?" His mother called from the living room.

  
"My face." Bog replied. "Meet you in the kitchen."

  
"Bogdan Cadeyrn Laird!" His mother yelled as Bog grinned at her with blood smeared all over the left side of his face. "Heal it before you get blood all over the place!"

  
"I can't. Just a wee little accident, and it has to stay, so I need ye to sew it up." Bog grinned, still holding the cloth to his face.

  
"At least make it stop bleeding!" His mother hurried off to retrieve needles and waxed thread.

  
Bog couldn't describe what he was feeling. Ridiculously amused and happy came close. He got what he deserved for not asking Marianne if she would like to spar with him. If he had asked her, this wouldn't have happened. He had assumed he was introducing her to something new. He had wanted it to be a fun surprise that they could enjoy routinely. Now his mother was going to jab a curved needle into his face to close the gash in his cheek. It was only a couple of inches long, but it would leave a scar.

-=-=-=-=-=-=

Bog returned to Marianne's house half an hour later, with a big adhesive bandage on his face. He had the box under his arm and gave Marianne a mock dirty look when she opened the door. She grimaced and invited him inside, apologizing again.

  
"Ye should have told me ye knew how to use a sword, so I didn't make a fool of myself." Bog grumbled with a slight smile.

  
"You should have asked me if I knew how to use a sword." Marianne countered nervously. "Are you okay?"

  
"It will heal." Bog replied, then grinned, "Hey, do ye watch Forged in Fire? Because it will keel." He handed the box to Marianne. "This is for ye."

  
Marianne took the box and walked into the dining room to open it on the table. "Why did you get me something?" She wasn't sure what to expect. The box was heavy and at least four feet in length.

  
"I saw it, and it reminded me of ye." Bog shrugged, standing next to the table. "I wanted ye to have it if ye had to uh move."

  
Marianne gave a little gasp when the box came open. There was a wood box inside made of polished purpleheart. It was lined with a black satiny material. Inside was one of the most beautiful swords Marianne had ever seen. The ornate blade was at least 3 feet in length with the hilt adding another foot. Marianne giggled, reaching into the box and tracing the design on the wide hilt.

  
"Why?" Marianne stared up at Bog in astonishment. "You shouldn't have! It must have been expensive!"

  
"Don't worry about it." Bog shrugged, turning aside from her. "I just wanted ye to have it. A friend of mine forges things like this. It wasn't that expensive. It's a real weapon if ye need it."

  
"I can't accept this," Marianne stated mournfully. She pushed the box across the table.

  
"I'm not taking it back." Bog smirked and started walking quickly to the front door. "A princess should have a sword!" He called, ducking out the front door and running back toward his house.

  
"Oh no, you don't!" Marianne yelled, chasing after him. "You can't call me, princess! I know what you think of princesses!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DID intend for the staff to be used in that bit of playfighting but decided against it when things began moving and Bog was supposed to be injured somehow. It was also fun to show Marianne's aggressive side along with the competitive.
> 
> There will be an update tomorrow AND Monday. I have begun writing November out and am so happy with how it's developing. December is also planned, which will end this for now.
> 
> Keep the comments coming, because I really do enjoy them and it takes the place of the kudos you can't leave on every chapter. :D I wish you could leave them on every chapter!


	6. October 13th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roland makes a move... and so does Marianne.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just pretend that's Marianne's movie sword design. :D I could have easily copied it from a piece I'm doing of fairy Marianne, but this is my inktober piece and since I intend on self-publishing this story within my own world (because it's so lovely and fits well), I don't feel right copying.

**October 13th**

Marianne smiled and ran her fingers over the designs on the sword Bog had given her. It was sitting on top of her dresser, sitting on a stand that had been included in the box. She could see it when she entered her room. She could also see it from her bed. It was a beautiful work of art.

  
Marianne yawned and slipped under her covers. She was still smiling, thinking about the same thing she thought of for the last few nights. The night Marianne had fallen asleep listening to Bog’s heartbeat. She had slept more comfortably than she had in months. She thought about how nice it had been to be in is arms. It wasn’t planned. She hadn’t even intended to touch him.

  
Marianne stared at the sword in deep thought. She wasn’t sure if Bog was into her or was being nice at this point. Did it matter? He had made it clear he only wanted to be friends. He was a good neighbor, and she shouldn’t read into it. But giving someone a sword? Bog was so weird. It was sweet.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Marianne woke up groggily to the sound of sirens. Red and blue lights were flashing off her walls coming from the side window, and there was a strong smell of smoke. She heard crashing sounds coming from downstairs. Then there were heavy footsteps on the stairs. The next thing she knew, Bog was in her room.

  
“Fire! Please don’t punch me!” Marianne was still trying to blink away the dream where Bog was in her room when he grabbed her. Bog lifted her out of bed then carried her through the door and down the stairs sideways. He was outside and across the street in only a couple of minutes, joining Sunny, Dawn, and his mother.

  
“Are you okay, Marianne?!” Dawn tried to get Marianne’s attention.

  
“What is going on?!” Marianne squinted at all the activity going on across the street in front of their houses. There were two fire trucks parked in front of their homes. It looked like the entire front and side of the Laird’s home was on fire.

  
“Don’t know.” Bog was breathing fast, staring from his house to Marianne’s. “I got up because I smelled smoke. I got Mom out, then had to get to ye three because it’s all over the place.”

  
“One of the neighbors called it in while we were getting out.” Bog’s mother stated, her eyes fixed on the fire that was resisting being put out by the hoses. The big tree in their front yard was covered in flames, and so was one of the trees in Marianne’s yard.

  
“Ye are a very heavy sleeper.” Bog stared at his house. He was still holding Marianne since she was barefoot and in a nightshirt. He clutched her tightly, unaware of how close he was holding her to himself.

  
“So, they tell me.” Marianne sighed and leaned her head on Bog’s shoulder. She had her arms looped around his neck. She could feel him shaking as he watched what was going on. “Are you okay, Bog?”

  
“Yes.” He glanced down at his bare feet. “Stepped on something sharp. I’ll survive.” The fire was going out, but the smoke and the darkness made it difficult to see exactly what was burning.

-=-=-=-=-=-

It was an hour before the firemen allowed Marianne to return to her home. She invited the Lairds in to join them. The front side of the house smelled like smoke, so they retreated to the den to wait for news about the Laird’s home. Marianne had only lost a tree.

  
Bog sat in silence by his mother while she tried to carry on a cheerful conversation. It was an impossible mission when surrounded by a group of stressed, tired young people.

  
Everything was going to be okay. Bog’s mother had good advice. It was always a good policy to not value things that could be destroyed. Life and family were the only things of importance to hold onto. Any damage would be covered by insurance.

  
Bog twisted his hands and fingers, his face lined with worry. Marianne brought coffee, tea, and anything else to drink she could find. She set them out on the coffee table with cups.

  
Then without asking, Marianne squeezed between Bog and the side of the couch. He started to get up to move to another chair when she grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. Bog scooted closer to his mother, unsure of what she was doing.

  
Marianne folded her arms around his right arm and leaned against him, whispering. “Just sit here. It’s okay.” Then she slid her arm behind him and started gently rubbing his back, trying to make him relax. Bog tensed up for a moment giving Marianne an odd look. His face was already flushed, but now it deepened. He felt like he was the center of everyone’s attention and hated it.

  
“Someone set that fire. Why would anyone do that?” Bog sighed. He did not add that he knew exactly who had done it. He had smelled him when he left the house with his mother. It was a faint scent, almost masked by the smell of gas and smoke. Roland had set that fire, and Bog couldn’t say anything about it without proof.

  
Bog had been frantic about getting to Marianne because he had smelled Roland. He had become overcome with a need to know she was safe. Yes. She could take care of herself, but that did not mean that Bog would take any chances with her life. Roland was dangerous. It might be best for Marianne to go ahead and leave. The thought made him sad, but it would be selfish of him to encourage her to stay. What he needed to do was get her to go.

  
“I know.” Marianne dragged her short nails down the middle of Bog’s back. He shivered. It felt so good. Why was she doing that? “Let’s go look at the videos and see if there’s anything in them that we can give to the police. Maybe whoever set the fire is on the video.”

  
“Great idea.” Bog got up immediately after Marianne and followed her upstairs.

-=-=-=-=-=-

The videos didn’t hold any clues. Nobody was on them.

  
It was almost noon when the Laird’s home was cleared. The front of the house had minimal fire damage. Windows had been broken by the fire hoses. There was water and smoke damage in the front of their home. Bog’s Halloween display had been completely destroyed. Yellow warning tape had been put up around his entire yard, and kids came up and down the road to see what had happened.

  
Bog had people in to begin cleaning within hours. His friends showed up, and by evening they had replaced all the broken windows and his front door. The strong smell of smoke was overwhelming in the Laird home, so Marianne invited them to stay in her house. She had a small spare bedroom. Bog’s mother was more than happy to cook them dinner, even though Marianne had tried to have food brought in.

  
A good family-style dinner was what everyone needed. Bog’s mother was an excellent cook. She made spaghetti with homemade meatballs and a delicious savory sauce. She even baked french bread from scratch.

  
Everyone helped clean up and then went to bed. It had been a long day. Bog kept his distance from Marianne until evening. She came to the den where he was sitting alone and brought blankets and a pillow down for him. She wasn’t going to bed yet and had suggested they watch a little tv. They started out on opposite sides of the couch. Bog positioned himself so that Marianne could not get too close to him. He pulled his feet up onto the couch to take up all the room between him and Marianne with his legs.

  
“I get the distinct impression you’re a hedgehog tonight.” Marianne frowned at Bog.

  
“What?”

  
“You’re trying to keep me away.”

  
“Am I?”

  
“Yes. You are.”

  
“Why does that matter?” Bog began mumbling. “I don’t, don’t want anything.”

  
“Okay.” Marianne nodded. “Why are you so afraid of me?”

  
“What? I’m not afraid of ye!” Bog fidgeted and shifted positions. He nervously put his feet on the floor, keeping himself to the edge of the couch.

  
“Your friends told me you’re afraid of me.”

  
“My friends are ridiculous.” Bog squirmed in his seat, uncomfortable with this entire conversation. “They still put out carrots for the Easter bunny. Milk and cookies for Santa and Captain America.”

  
“I’m not scary!” Marianne scowled at Bog.

  
Bog smiled and pointed at her. “Go look at yerself in a mirror right now.”

  
“I’m not scary.” Marianne sighed.

  
“Ye like to yell at me. Uhm, I think I’ll go on over to my house and sleep.” Bog was visibly shaking as he got to his feet. “I don’t want to interrupt yer evening.”

  
“Sit down.” Marianne pointed at the couch. Bog gave Marianne a questioning look. “What do you want?”

  
“Seriously?” Bog sat back down and stared at Marianne. There were two things he wanted, but he could only say one. “I want ye to be safe, and if that means moving, ye need to leave.” Bog lowered his voice to a whisper. “We shouldn’t play these games, Marianne. We’re going to hurt each other in the end, and I don’t want to hurt ye anymore than I want to be hurt.”

  
The look on Marianne’s face made Bog regret every word he said. “What about what I want? Does that count, or have you made up your mind for both of us?”

  
“I saw the photo Marianne.” Bog lowered his eyes, recalling every detail. “Ye can’t be where he can find ye. It would be better if ye move and soon.”

  
“That’s not what I want.”

  
Bog rose again, smacking his hand into his chest. He turned to face Marianne and spoke in a shaky voice. “If I catch Roland anywhere near ye, I may not be able to control myself. What he did was wrong, and he should not have gotten away with it. Do ye want me to kill a man for ye? Do ye seriously want that from me? Because that is what ye are going to get. Then I’ll probably hate ye because ye put me in that position. Ye could leave, and the problem will go away for both of us.” He didn’t believe he could ever hate her even as he spoke the words. He didn’t want her to leave, but he had to say it. This was for her safety.

  
Marianne stared at Bog, her lower lip trembling. She didn’t like what he was saying, but he was honest. Now it was her turn. “Can’t we find a better solution together?” She walked up to him and touched his arm. He flinched away from her. “Bogdan. We could look at this problem together. Tomorrow. There has to be a way to get him to stop coming after me.” She took another step toward Bog, and he took a step away.

  
“Marianne.” Bog’s resolve was beginning to waver. “I really like ye. I’m an idiot. I want ye to be safe.” He gave her a sad look, still trying to keep her from touching him.

  
“I like you too.” She snagged his sleeve. Then she let him go. “Sleep on it? I’ll leave you alone. Promise you’ll give it some thought? If we can’t come up with anything, then I’ll move.”

  
Bog sighed. “Okay.” His shoulders sagged in defeat, and Marianne suddenly had her arms around him. Bog lowered his face against the top of her head and inhaled. She smelled so good. He couldn’t help it. He nuzzled the top of her head, then gently kissed her hair. Marianne tilted her head up, and Bog found himself gazing into her beautiful brown eyes. After a moment of indecision, she kissed him on the mouth before he knew what was happening. Her lips were so soft and warm.

  
They stood there, kissing for several minutes, which was a little awkward at first. Bog had no experience and hadn’t expected it. He followed Marianne’s lead willingly as an unusual warmth flooded his body. Marianne pulled back, running a finger under Bog’s chin as she did. The simple gesture made Bog shiver. “Probably shouldn’t have done that.”

  
“I like what we shouldn’t have done.” Bog grinned dumbly. “But, uh, we should avoid that until we fix the R-problem.” Now Bog understood why couples liked to kiss so much. It was electrifying.

  
“Sure.” Then she did it again. They kissed for several more minutes.

  
“Yer so annoying.” This time Bog took a step back and staggered to the couch feeling way too excited and light-headed. He nervously grabbed a blanket and began making up the couch to sleep on. “Go away.”

  
“Goodnight, Bog.” Marianne wobbled away, feeling that she should go to bed and get a good night’s sleep. If she wanted to pursue anything like this with Bog, she needed to get Roland out of her life. Preferably without him winding up dead in the process.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Roland glared at his laptop. He didn’t like what he was seeing. The love of his life was kissing another man. A man who was nothing compared to him. Roland made a low growling sound of frustration. Marianne was his. She would always belong to him, he needed the proper leverage to make her see that.

  
He could see Marianne’s entire house, inside and out. Marianne’s father might have fired him, but Roland still had friends who worked for him. They had given him access to the cameras. He had been watching her since they were installed and formulating a plan.

  
Roland needed to get to Marianne when she was alone. He was going to take her by force. She would be his after proper conditioning. Roland had it all figured out. It would take time, but in the end, Marianne would belong to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The number of times Marianne makes a decision and drags Bog into it are numerous. :D However, she's a lot better about wanting to work THROUGH a problem to get what she wants. 
> 
> Another update tomorrow!


	7. October 14th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bog and Marianne formulate a plan to get Roland out of their lives for good.

**October 14th**

Bog’s mother noticed immediately that something was going on with her son. Something that had not been going on before that morning. Bog was up early and had gone back to his house to retrieve fresh blueberries, real butter, and maple syrup. Then he began making a breakfast casserole using leftover french bread. He had a huge smile on his face and was humming to himself in the kitchen.

  
Bog put the casserole in the oven and turned around to see his mother smiling at him. “Good morning, Bog.”

  
“Good morning, Mom.” Bog walked up to his mother and gave her a quick hug.

  
“Okay, spill it. Now.”

  
“What?” Bog walked around the kitchen with an uncharacteristic bounce in his step. A goofy smile was plastered across his face. “Would ye like some orange juice or milk? I think I saw apple juice in here too.”

  
“What were you up to last night, Bogdan? Your mom is just curious.” She grinned at him.

  
“Nothing.” Bog’s cheeks flushed red, and he had to avoid looking at his mother as he brought out the container of orange juice. “I swear, nothing happened.”

  
“Don’t lie to your mom, Bog.”

  
Bog poured two glasses of orange juice and offered one to his mother. She took it, and he glanced around to make sure that Sunny and Dawn weren’t anywhere nearby. Then he leaned down and whispered, “I’m not lying, Mom. She, she likes me.” He stammered. “She kissed me.”

  
“That sounds like something.” She grinned. Of course, her son was not going to make the first move. She knew all about his social anxieties. It would take a special girl to get to him and draw him out like this.

  
“I don’t want to talk about it with ye.” Bog nervously began drinking his orange juice. “Please do not bother Marianne. I know ye, Mother, leave her alone.”

  
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Dear.” His mother clasped her hands, and Bog groaned at the look on her face. She was going to do something. He just knew it.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Half an hour later, Marianne stumbled into the kitchen. She was still in a nightshirt, and her hair was wildly sticking up everywhere. She had smelled bacon and was on the hunt for it. Bog was turning the strips in a frying pan. Marianne blinked at the sight of him. He had already showered, shaved, and changed into clean clothes. Bog noticed she was there, and he smiled at her, and Marianne sighed, giving him a half-hearted smile in return. Her face turned red, and she wandered back up to her room to get ready for the day.

  
“Marianne is not a morning person.” Dawn giggled at the interaction. She, Sunny, and Bog’s mother were sitting at the kitchen table and saw the whole thing.

“Thanks for making breakfast, Boggy!”

  
“Bogdan.” Bog corrected her. He took the breakfast casserole out and put it on the counter to cool.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Bog’s mother loved what she saw as the morning went on. Her son was smiling more than she had ever seen him smile before. It lit up his entire face. Bog and Marianne used every opportunity they could to be near each other. They were no longer trying to have space between them. If they walked by each other, their hands touched. They sat next to each other. Marianne repeatedly leaned against Bog, and he would lean back against her. They were both smiling and kept awkwardly bumping into each other. Neither was used to someone else being in their personal space as often as they were.

  
By afternoon, Dawn and Sunny had also noticed the change in them. They chose not to say anything. They giggled to each other every time Bog or Marianne made an awkward movement with each other. It was happening a lot.

  
For their part, Bog and Marianne were trying to avoid sneaking off together. They settled for being close to one another. They still had a lot of work to do.

  
Bog had to leave to supervise the cleaning at his house so he and his mother could return to it that evening. Marianne had a project due. They both tried to keep their focus on the things that needed to be done. Their minds often drifted in the direction of wanting to explore their new relationship. Those thoughts were overwhelmingly strong.

-=-=-=-=-=-

“So our choices are to let Roland come after ye and catch him on video abusing ye?" Bog leaned back in his chair, frowning at Marianne. “Or I start following ye around like a guard dog for life?”

  
They were sitting in Marianne’s studio. She was at her computer, and Bog was seated next to her. “I’ve done everything legally I’m supposed to. That’s the way things work.” Marianne nodded at Bog.

  
“I don’t like the options. Well, I like the following ye around option, but I think ye’d get tired of that after a while.” Bog smiled at Marianne.

  
“Bog. I know you don’t like it, but catching him on video is the surest way to get him arrested.”

  
“He might hurt ye.” Bog shook his head.

  
“I can give you the account information for the cameras so you can see what’s going on. I’ll get Sunny and Dawn out of the house. I have a sneaky suspicion that someone is watching the house. I just can’t figure out where they’re hiding.” Marianne looked up at the camera in the corner of her studio suspiciously.

  
“What?” Bog followed her gaze, noticing that she was fixated on the camera.

  
“Whoever set fire to your display knew to keep out of the range of the cameras.” Marianne turned her back to the camera and whispered. “One of those cameras was angled on your front door.”

  
“I know. I let them do it when they asked.” Bog nodded slowly.

  
“But some random person setting a fire would not know where the cameras were pointed.” Marianne scrunched up her face in thought and tapped her fingers on her desk. She sighed. “I need to call my dad.”

  
“No.” Bog scowled. “Yer thinking that Roland or someone working with him has access to the cameras, right?”

  
“Yes.” Marianne nodded.

  
“If someone is watching the cameras then the moment they see ye alone they’re going to make their move. Ye haven’t been alone since they were installed, have ye?”

  
“Sunny and Dawn go out grocery shopping or to run errands often, but that’s always during the day.”

  
“But not at night?”

  
“They’re always at home.” Marianne nodded.

  
“Then we need to get them out of the house at night and see what happens. If we can control the situation, it’s less dangerous for ye. I’ll be close enough to stop him.” Bog looked at Marianne in concern. “I do not like using ye as bait.”

  
“Unless you want to hide a body, this is the best way.” Marianne sighed, leaning back in her chair. She reached out to Bog and took his hand. He scooted his chair closer, then leaned over to kiss her.

  
“Oh, that’s sooo cute!” Bog jumped and lost his balance and fell into Marianne’s chair, knocking it and both of them onto the floor. Dawn giggled from the doorway with Sunny snickering right behind her.

  
“Dawn!” Marianne groaned flat on her back on the floor. “What did I tell you about doing that?!”

  
“What?” Dawn looked innocent. “You used to say dumb things and make faces at Sunny and me when you’d walk in on us doing the same thing.”

  
“Do ye mind?” Bog groaned, trying to get the chair out of the way so he and Marianne could stand.

  
“Your mom wanted to let you know dinner’s ready.” Sunny waved from the doorway. “Chicken pot pie! It smells so good!”

  
“You two behave!” Dawn giggled, turning and pushing her husband playfully away from the door.

  
“Behave?” Marianne smirked at Bog as he helped her up.

  
“I aim to misbehave.” Bog grinned back at her.

  
“Thank you so much for putting that thought into my head.” Marianne giggled.

  
“What thought?” Bog leaned down with a smile.

  
“That I want to dress you up like a certain starship captain for Halloween.” Marianne took a step back and looked at Bog from head to toe. “Or make you my personal John Wick. That might work better.”

  
Bog laughed. “I already have a perfect costume.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The illustration turned out so nice for this one.
> 
> Now, you might think: But how could Sunny and Dawn be a big deterrent to keeping Roland away during the day? They're not combat-oriented, AT ALL. It's not them. It's someone from a group you'll get to meet in November. Someone extremely special and I love writing him. I want to introduce him so bad. :D You might even call him a 'John Wick' style character who is the bogeyman of everyone's nightmares. His name is Arawn.
> 
> Next update: October 18th - The plan goes into action!


	8. October 18th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bog and Marianne get Dawn and Sunny out of the house so they can trap Roland!

**October 18th**

It took several days to get Sunny and Dawn out of the house for the evening. Marianne gave them money and encouraged them to go have a date night between the two of them and watch a movie. They tried to talk Marianne into making it a double date and bringing Bog along. She made an excuse that he was busy with work, and she also needed to get some things done. It was true.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog sat on his porch staring at the charred sections of his lawn. All the debris had been collected and discarded. The heavy smell of smoke and charred wood still covered his front yard. He had settled onto the porch with a couple of bottles of root beer to pass the time until night fell.

  
Several times kids came by and waved to him. Some of them came up and expressed their sadness about what had happened. A few even asked if he was okay.

  
For the kids, he smiled and let them know he would do an even better job next year. He didn’t know what he was going to do, but it would be better. Bog’s thoughts were more focused on Marianne and what might happen that evening.

  
He was worried out of his mind, and there were parts of him screaming at him that there were other choices. He could suggest that Marianne move, and he could follow her. It was a ridiculous notion, but at the moment, he wanted to do anything he could to protect Marianne. His job was as mobile as hers was. He didn’t even need a job.

  
Bog didn’t want the only woman he had a chance of having a real relationship with, leaving him because of a moron who couldn’t take no for an answer.

  
Then again. This was his home. Bog had lived here for most of his life. He had memories of his father here, and he wanted to keep close to them. He had spent time with his extended family in Scotland as a child, but this was home. This was a safe place. People depended on him. A slow smile crept onto Bog’s face as he thought about his people. There was another plan if this one fell through. That one would be risky, but if he gave the order, everyone would stand by him. If they failed tonight, he would have no choice.

-=-=-=-=-

Marianne waved to Sunny and Dawn as they left to go out on their date. She looked through the blinds near the door. She saw Bog sitting on his porch, waving to Sunny and Dawn as they walked to their little car. He looked her way, picked up his empty bottles, and went inside. She knew he was going to be sitting in his living room watching her on his laptop. She had helped him set up the account early that day.

  
Immediately after that, they had staged a fake fight for the benefit of the cameras. Bog had stormed out of the house. No words needed to be exchanged because the cameras did not have microphones. The ‘argument’ looked more heated than it actually was. Bog had suggested this action to counter what they had done that was likely caught on video. It would make the watcher think that Bog wasn’t likely to come back to the house anytime soon.

  
Marianne already missed him. He had looked so sad and alone sitting on his porch. If it wasn’t for Roland, she would have joined him or asked him to join her. They could have gone out with Sunny and Dawn on a real date. This was all so weird.

  
She wanted this over with so she could do normal dating things with Bog. The things she had not wanted anything to do with for over a year. She wanted to do them with him. She wanted to see what kinds of things he would plan. Marianne felt like Bog would be so different from Roland in that area. Bog would most likely plan things that were meant for both of them to enjoy, not just what he wanted to do. She wanted to know what he would do. It was such a simple dumb desire. What kind of things would Bog pick up on from her without her telling him?

  
Bog paid more attention to the details than he looked like he was. What had given him the notion to give her a sword? Sheer blind luck or an actual intuition into who she was? There were several ornate swords displayed on the wall of her bedroom. She had real useable longswords and armor in her closet. There were a lot of things in that closet that she didn’t display, so there was no way for him to have ever seen them.

  
Marianne picked up her laptop and wandered to the back of the house. She had to look like she was spending an ordinary evening alone. There were some tv shows to watch while Marianne waited. Something light and funny to take her mind off the risks she was taking. Bog would be watching, and she had left him a key to the front door.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog didn’t take his eyes off of the laptop once he had settled down into one of the couches in his front living room. It was vital for him to be as alert as possible. He would not waste a moment in getting over to Marianne’s house.

  
The anticipation of something happening was intense. Each passing moment was torture.

-=-=-=-=-

The electricity went out, plunging the neighborhood into darkness.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog froze. This couldn’t be a coincidence. He tossed the laptop aside and got to his feet, heading for Marianne’s house.

-=-=-=-=-

Marianne felt her chest tighten as the living room was plunged into darkness. “Good evening, Butter Cup.” His smug voice called to her from somewhere in the dark room. Marianne froze in place, trying to figure out where he was. He was close. “You and I need to have a little chat. You’ve been cheatin’ on me with that stick next door. I can forgive you for that. I am very forgivin’.”

  
“Leave me alone, Roland!” Marianne shakily got to her feet and removed a small dagger from a strap just below her pant leg. She had concealed it for this very reason. She backed up against the wall, her eyes fixed on the shadows.

  
“Don’t be that way. I love you.”

  
“You don’t beat people you love!” Marianne screamed into the darkness as something moved toward her. She lashed out with the dagger and hit something hard. The blade glanced off of armor plating. Roland had come prepared.

  
“Come on, Marianne. I am not going to hurt you ever again. I promise.”

  
“Marianne!” There was a thudding sound coming from the front of the house as Bog’s voice rang through the darkness.

  
“You two didn’t think this through very well, did you?” Roland laughed, and Marianne saw a glimpse of movement. “You gave him a key, but keys don’t work on deadbolts locked from the inside, do they?”

  
Marianne groaned, realizing she had hit the lock out of habit, without thinking. She struck out with the dagger again as hard as she could, uttering a short phrase. A blast of flame engulfed the blade. It blazed, and Marianne was rewarded with a glimpse of Roland’s startled face as the fire flared out at him. He yelped and staggered backward. The ignited blade hit his arm and sliced through his armor.

  
The sound of breaking glass came from the front of Marianne’s house. It was followed by heavy footsteps coming her way. Roland glanced in the direction of the sound. He had come prepared to grab Marianne, not fight. He turned and with a growl, lunged at her.

  
Marianne stumbled over a chair and fell to the floor as Bog entered the room.

Bog charged at Roland, guided by the light of the fire lingering on his arm. Roland was distracted by the same flames. For a brief moment, he panicked and found them more important than Bog or Marianne. Bog slammed into him with his full weight. Both men smashed into a coffee table, sending wood splintering everywhere. Roland shouted something, and Bog was thrown across the room by an unseen force. He crashed into the far wall and fell to the ground, momentarily stunned.

  
Roland turned away, thinking that Bog was down and walked toward Marianne. Bog picked himself up and recovered far faster than Roland expected.

  
Bog tackled Roland from the back and knocked him past Marianne, who was trying to scramble out of the way. Roland began to realize that even with his armor, something was off about the situation, and he needed to get out. There were dents in the plating, and a few of them were digging into his sides. How was this man so strong?

  
“Get off of me!” Roland punched Bog in the face, giving him enough room to get to his feet and run. Bog staggered back, shook his head, and looked up in time to see Roland pass through the wall in a flicker of light. He vanished. He stared after him with a dazed look on his face. That man had walked through a wall without damaging it.

  
Roland was a Hunter. Bog’s legs felt weak. He had only seen a Hunter once in his life, and that was the day they had taken his father from him. He began breathing hard as panic set in. The sense of being a small frightened boy hit him.

  
Marianne ran to him and threw her arms around his body, feeling over him to see if he was injured. “Bogdan? Bogdan?” Marianne called his name and sighed. She was going to have to explain what happened and she wasn’t sure if he could handle it. “Are you okay?” She reached up and touched his face. His eyes were locked on the wall.

  
“How did he do that, Marianne?” He swallowed his fears and stared down at Marianne. He could barely see her in the darkness. He had to hear it from her.

  
“I don’t know if you’ll believe me, Bog.” She was caressing his face now, trying to calm him down. She chose her words with care, continuing the gentle motion. “Roland hunts things for the government. Dangerous things that shouldn’t exist.”

  
“Like what?” Bog began shaking again. He knew exactly what she was going to say.

  
“Vampires. Werewolves. Monsters.” Marianne kept it simple. She didn’t need to go into detail. “You saw him go through that wall. I knew he could do some things, but I didn’t know he could do that.” She gestured to the wall.

  
“How do you sleep at night knowing things like that exist?” Bog was still panicking inside. He had to ask questions like he didn’t know any of this already. She wasn’t going into detail, so it was likely she wasn’t one of them. They would keep the details vague when talking to an ordinary human.

  
“They are rare. I’ve never seen one.” Marianne stood in front of Bog, both hands on his face now. She could feel blood on her fingertips.

  
“Then how do you know they exist, and he isn’t lying?”

“I’ve seen pictures. Want to see them?”

  
“I don’t know how I feel about this.” Bog wiped a hand over his nose and grumbled. Roland had punched him in the face and hit the side of his nose. It wasn’t broken, but it was bleeding freely. “I’m getting blood on everything."

Let’s see if we can find our way to the bathroom or somewhere I can get something to stop the bleeding. There’s a lantern in there.” Marianne took his arm, and they slowly made their way to the bathroom. “You’re taking this really well.”

-=-=-=-=-

Bog was not taking it well. He was holding up a good front and playing the part of a dumb human while his mind whirled with confusion and shock. Marianne had helped clean him up by the light of an emergency lantern in the bathroom. He had enjoyed the tender attention to his injuries. They were minor, but there were a lot of them, and he was going to have to let them heal on their own.

  
There were many small lacerations from breaking the window to get inside. Bog had a huge bruise forming on the left side of his face near the cut Marianne had given him. The knuckles on both of his hands were busted open and bleeding. He had punched armor plating. He had gotten into a fistfight with an Arcadian Hunter and survived. That was no small feat.

  
The electricity came back on after half an hour. Marianne took Bog up to her studio and brought out a small packet of photos. She handed it to him and let him look through them. Bog curiously opened it and started going through the pictures. The first one was the body of a Lycean wolf in hybrid form that had been shot in the head. Bog winced, then flipped to another.

  
The second photo had that grinning moron lifting the head of a Lycean lion also in hybrid form off the ground. The head was still attached to the body, but the eyes were open and staring. The tongue lolled out lifelessly. Bog’s stomach churned. It was a much smaller female. He could see the light spots on her shoulders that indicated she wasn’t even a teenager. A harmless child. The image of a terrified child trying to get away from a heavily armored hunter broke into Bog’s mind. Lycean children were like any other child. Yes. They could turn into whatever animal their bloodline tied them to, but they were children. Frightened children being gunned down by someone who they had no chance against. He shoved the rest photos back into the envelope and handed them back to Marianne.

  
“I can’t look at those.” He got up and wobbly headed to the bathroom he knew was next to the studio.

  
“Yeah. I don’t look at these. Found them in my things. I should burn them.” Marianne turned the envelope over in her hands, thoughtfully. She had run across them and tossed them aside, meaning to get rid of them. They weren’t pleasant photos. She winced, hearing Bog throwing up in the bathroom. She had never been particularly fond of the things Roland did. She did not share the glee he took in taking down creatures that weren’t actually a danger to anyone. Roland was outright cruel, justifying it because they had to die to save innocent people. Bog’s reaction was more appropriate.

-=-=-=-=-

Roland scowled as he checked the damaged plating on his arm. This was why he had to be careful about approaching Marianne. Her ability to set things on fire was astonishing. His armor should have protected him, but there was a six-inch gouge of melted plating. She had managed to burn his arm as well. He grumbled and began removing the plate. He was sitting in a nearby hotel room where he and a trio of friends were staying. It was an excellent place to hide out while they figured out how to get Marianne into Roland’s clutches.

  
He needed a better idea. Better cover. It would be a good idea to lay low and let them worry for awhile. Halloween night would offer an opportunity. The streets would be full of people out with their kids trick or treating. Roland would be able to work under that cover. He could figure out a way to get a strong sedative into Marianne to render her incapable of fighting back. Roland tugged at one of his armored plates and grumbled. There was a massive dent in it where Bog had hit him. There were smears of blood on the plating.

  
This was interesting. Roland smiled and went to retrieve a blood collection kit from his gear. Marianne’s neighbor was not what he looked like. A normal man wouldn’t be able to scratch his armor. However, a Lycean, even in human form, could do damage like this. There was plenty of blood smeared on his armor to test.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog was quiet and kept his mouth shut. He and Marianne were sitting at the kitchen table. He was going to need to talk to his mother, but he couldn’t leave Marianne alone. She had brought a hunter into their midst. No. HE had brought a hunter into their midst when he let her buy her house. He could not have known. She checked out in the system as a normal human with an unaltered birth certificate and records. She had a complete and full history without any gaps. It wasn’t her fault a hunter decided he wanted her for a wife. None of this was her fault.

  
Now, what could be done about him? Bog had never killed anyone in his life. He had no desire to take another man’s life. He needed to speak to his mother! She would be able to help. There had to be a way that he was overlooking. He tilted his head to look at Marianne. She was sitting quietly across from him, staring at her hands. He wanted to tell her that everything would be okay. He fought back those words as others came to mind. He loved her. He would never leave her. He wanted to protect her and be there for her. The words repeated, but he couldn’t say them.

  
“Marianne. What are ye going to do against a man who can walk through walls and kills monsters for a living?”

  
“This is why I have to leave.” Marianne continued staring at her hands. Tears began streaming down her face as she lost all control. “You were right.” Marianne couldn’t look up at him. She was angry and embarrassed. She had been foolish to try to stay. Their plan had been stupid. They had not considered that Roland would out-think them and cut the power so there would be no proof. Now Bog had cuts all over his body because of her. What would happen the next time Roland came back? He was going to come armed.

  
Bog got up and stood behind Marianne. He wrapped her in a tight hug, resting his chin on her shoulder. He had made a decision, and he chose his words carefully. “Give me several days, Marianne. I know some people.” He muttered. “People who know alchemy.” Marianne tensed up at the word.

“You.” Marianne turned, giving him a baffled look. “You know? You were pretending to not know?”

  
“I know people.” Bog didn’t want to look her in the eye. “Not me. Do not ask me any questions about it. Let’s keep those involved safer than we’ve managed to keep ourselves.” He kept things as vague as he could and hoped she would not dig. “I want ye to be able to stay here. He found ye once. He can do it again, and I doubt he’s going to give ye warning the next time.”

  
Marianne nodded. Wow. Bog was full of surprises. He had tested her to see what she knew before revealing his own cards. The thought was a little unsettling, but this whole other world was not a nice one. Saying the wrong things could get a person killed. Being vague was always the best approach.

  
“I’ll get yer window replaced tomorrow. We better go clean up that glass before Sunny and Dawn get home.” Bog sighed. “What are we going to tell them happened?”

  
“I don’t want to worry them.” Marianne got up to find something to help Bog.

  
“Pretty sure they’re going to notice that hole is Bog sized.” He chuckled finding that a little humorous.

  
“I got it. Sword accident. They’ll believe that!” Marianne laughed and the two exchanged conspiratorial grins.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog made a few phone calls to friends to discreetly watch Marianne’s house and his own. They were to pass on a message to everyone else in the neighborhood that a Hunter had been sighted. He gave them Roland’s description. This was a community-wide concern, and everyone needed to be vigilant. He would talk to his mother in the morning.

  
He helped Marianne board up the broken window. Then they settled into one of the comfortable couches in the living room to wait for Sunny and Dawn to get home. They were too uncomfortable to talk and sat in silence. Eventually, Bog got tired of the silence and reached out for Marianne. The moment he touched her she made a sniffling sound and turned to curl up next to him. She had been waiting for him to invite her closer.

  
That was how Sunny and Dawn found them when they got home hours later. Bog left soon after they arrived. The couple had stared at Bog. He had numerous cuts and bandages on his face along with the bruise. Marianne excused herself to go to bed and headed up the stairs. She didn’t reach the top.

“What happened in here?!” Dawn shrieked from the den. “Marianne?! What did you and Bog DO tonight?!”

  
“Interesting relationship you two have!” Sunny’s voice joined Dawn’s.

  
Marianne groaned and turned around. They had forgotten about cleaning up the second living area. She was either going to have to tell Dawn and Sunny the truth or let their imaginations run wild. She wasn’t sure which one was more horrifying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Roland's a bit smarter than Bog and Marianne thought! Uh-oh!  
Update coming tomorrow as well! There won't be another huge gap after this one!  
As always, leaving a simple comment is nice and encouraging. I've had a good time writing this and editing is a chore. :D  
I'll wait to groan and say: Wow, I throw a black cloak over Bog in this inktober piece and he immediately becomes Snape.


	9. October 19th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mom has advice for Bog, and some of it is good.   
Bog takes Marianne out on an actual date to keep an eye on her and do something to take their minds off their situation.

**October 19th**

“I am so sorry, Dear.” Bog’s mother laid a comforting hand on his arm. They were sitting across from each other in the living room, his mother’s domain. He had explained what happened the prior evening in great detail.

  
“I don’t want to kill that monster even if he deserves it.” Bog looked to his mother earnestly. “Mom. I do not want to kill anyone.”

  
“In my day, that was unavoidable, Bog.” She patted his arm and then sat back, reflecting on the situation. “I have taken out ten hunters, Bog. It gets a little too easy when you remove any thoughts of them being human.”

  
“I don’t want to become like them.” Bog replied in disgust. “That’s what they do to us!”

  
“We don’t go looking for them, Bog. They come looking for us.” Zelda frowned. “It’s different. You have to remember hundreds of years separate you and me in how the world has changed. It’s better than it was in many ways and worse in others.”

  
“I can’t kill him for more reasons than knowing I can not morally justify it.” Bog gestured wildly with his hands. “If his body is found, then hunters will descend on wherever he was last seen. He might have friends.” Bog paused and stared at the ground, unable to consider what his mother had suggested. “He probably has a family that cares about him somewhere. Even monsters have mothers and fathers who love them.”

  
“We used to just eat them.” His mother shrugged like it was nothing to make that suggestion. “No body. No problem.”

  
Bog stared at his mother. For such a sweet little lady, she had a dark side. It cropped up every now and then at the most random times. She was a good person, but she had seen more awful things in her long life than could be imagined. “Mother. No.”

  
“Just a suggestion.” She smiled as though she had been telling him to go buy a bouquet of flowers. Perfectly normal everyday conversation.

  
“Do you have any suggestions that do not involve dead bodies?” Bog sighed.

  
“Yes, but it’s going to be tricky because we will need to capture your hunter.”

  
“He walks **THROUGH** walls!” Bog jumped to his feet and stomped around the room. “**THROUGH THEM**!” His frustration was overwhelming. He wanted to punch something.  
“No need to yell. That kind of ability requires the whole body to channel energy. It’s like our shifting ability and how we use alchemy in general.” Zelda was smiling at him. Bog sighed and turned his attention on her. “Which means that all you have to do is get a silver rope around him to disrupt that ability.”

  
“Marianne will completely freak out if my hands start smoking and burning from handling silver, Mom.” He sighed again and sank back into the chair across from his mother. “And that stuff hurts!”

  
“Marianne is going to have to be the one handling it. You will have to be very careful when you give it to her.” Bog’s mother gave him a stern look. “Go into town and buy the longest silver necklace you can find. Oh, why don’t you invite Marianne to go with you? You should take her on a real date.”

  
Bog stared at his mother. He needed to deal with a life or death problem, and she was suggesting that he take time to go on a date?

  
“Take her shopping. Buy her something nice. Treat her like you don’t ever want her to leave.” His mother began talking fast, a broad smile fixed on her wrinkled face. “Tell her you love her.”

  
“I can’t.” Bog fidgeted with his hands and stared at the floor. “I don’t know what she would say. She likes me. I am happy with that as it is. I don’t want to ruin it by saying that right now. She has to say it first.”

  
“Since she moved in.” His mother chuckled. “She has had you since she moved in. You can’t hide that from me.”

  
“Mother, please.” Bog turned red. Then he looked up at her and smiled. “Why don’t ye move on and pick up a new identity so ye can go run around all young again and see what’s out there for ye. Then ye can leave me alone about it. Have some more kids since ye want them so bad.”

  
“Because I love you!” His mother got up fast for someone who looked like an elderly woman. She threw her arms around her son and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back.

  
“I love you too, Mom.”

-=-=-=-=-

Following their conversation, Bog’s mother hurried to her room with her phone. She immediately called Marianne. Zelda had been planning something, and now she was going to put it in motion. She knew her son well. It was easy to plant a suggestion. He would often turn it down, then think about it and act on it later.

  
“Good morning, Marianne.” Bog’s mother got the groggy girl on the phone after a few rings.

  
“Hullo, who is this?” Marianne wasn’t a morning person.

  
“It’s Zelda, Bog’s mother. I wanted to talk to you about a surprise birthday party we’re having for Bogdan on the 23rd. Please write this down, Child, you don’t sound very awake.” She waited for a few minutes. Marianne could be heard on the other side of the phone fumbling around for a paper and a pen.

  
“Birthday party.” She could hear Marianne writing. “23rd. Time?”

  
“What time would you prefer it to be at, Marianne? I’m going to need you to occupy Bog while we get ready.” There was silence on the other end of the phone.  
“Occupy Bog?” Then Marianne began giggling like that was the funniest thing she had ever heard. “Occupy Bog?”

  
“You take him out somewhere nice and keep him away from the house. We have a big surprise planned for him, and I need to get the specifics to everyone. The later, the better. I need him out of the house in the morning and most of the afternoon.”

  
“What should I do with him?” Marianne yawned. “I need to think about this. Am I planning a date here? Oh, wait. That’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m planning a date.” Marianne groaned and fell back onto her bed. It was too early in the morning to be doing any real thinking. “If you have any ideas, please let me hear them.”

  
Zelda smiled and managed to keep from telling Marianne what she thought she and her son should be doing. Getting together and making her some grandkids. She could talk that way with her son. But it might scare her hopefully future daughter-in-law. And the mother of all those grandchildren she had already named. “I have a few ideas.”

-=-=-=-=-

Bog buttoned up the black dress shirt he had chosen for today. While he wore ordinary t-shirts around his house, Bog preferred something more formal for what he had in mind. His mother’s words had sunk in, and it had triggered several considerations. Marianne needed to relax. He was leaving his home to go into town. He didn’t want to leave her alone, even though she was safest during the daytime. Bog wanted to keep an eye on her.

  
He also wanted to show her the things he wanted to do for her and what he could provide. He hadn’t been joking when he said he made good money. The Lairds were well off due to centuries of responsible money management and living below their means. Having long lives made things easier for them. Lyceans tended to gain many professional skills over their lifetimes. His mother had worked as an interpreter for decades. She knew 30 or 40 languages and had taught Bog some of them. She could always get a well-paying job with her skills if it were necessary.

  
Bog studied himself in the mirror. His face was covered in cuts. There was a huge ugly bruise next to the bandage covering the stitched wound on the left side of his face. He couldn’t shave until the cuts healed. He could have healed them all without a trace. But Bog had to carry on the impression that he was a regular human, like Marianne. He could do it. He could live a lifetime with her. He would happily grow old with Marianne. Bog sighed at that thought. She would pass on before he would, and then he would do what he had suggested to his mother. He would take on a new lonely identity. He stared at himself. Just his luck to find his love in a human. They only had 80 to 100 years compared to his 800 to 1,000. She would never know what he was. Any children they had would take after him. He would have a family to love. He wouldn’t be alone after all.

  
Then Bog smiled. That was not here or now. Right now, he had the attention of a gorgeous young lady who excited and scared him all at once. That was enough for someone who thought there would never be anyone at all. He needed to get rid of the ex, and that plan was in motion. He had already called a store in town to pick up a 36” sterling silver chain necklace.

  
For a brief moment, Bog considered telling Marianne that he was a Lycean. She knew about Lyceans. Then he remembered the photos. No. Lyceans tended to have a reputation. THAT reputation. He didn’t want her to think of him like the things that Roland hunted. This was a secret he could hold. Bog was as human as her. He just had a longer life and the ability to change into a monster and wreck anything in his path. He could keep this secret.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog had wasted enough time. He was sure Marianne would be up and ready to go if he went over to her house now. Hopefully, she would be able to go with him. Otherwise, he would wait.

-=-=-=-=-

Marianne had been warned that Bog was likely going to come over and offer to take her out. That little bit of information had been exciting enough to get her moving. She needed to be prepared to go out, but she couldn’t look like she was expecting it. She opted for jeans and a simple t-shirt with purple butterflies decorating the left side. She made sure she had comfortable shoes on for walking.

  
When the doorbell rang, Marianne ran past a startled Dawn and Sunny to answer it. She threw the door open and bounced out onto the porch grabbing Bog’s arm, “I am so glad you’re here! I need to get out of the house before Dawn and Sunny see you! They’ll have questions! So many embarrassing questions!”

  
Bog was startled as she pulled him across the porch and down the stairs. “You would not believe what I had to tell them about last night. We forgot to clean up the den!”  
“Uh, oh.” Bog grimaced, glancing at her house and walking down the stairs with her.

  
“Yeah, so they think we had a big fight last night.”

  
“What? Why would you tell them that?” Bog stopped and stared at her. “I don’t want them thinking I would hurt ye. We need to go back and tell them something else.”  
“Oh, they think I made it up.” Marianne rolled her eyes. “They think we were doing something else.”

  
“WHAT?!” His face turned bright red. “I would rather they know what really happened!” He turned and started back up the steps.

  
“Noooo.” Marianne pulled as hard as she could and was still dragged halfway up the steps. “You can’t tell them! He’s not after them, just me! Let them believe what they want to believe!”

  
Bog stopped and stared at Marianne. “I don’t like that. It’s not true. I’m not like that, and neither are ye.”

  
“Please?” Marianne tugged on his arm. Bog glanced at the door, then back to Marianne. He wanted them to know the truth. It made him queasy about turning the damage from his fight with Roland into a sordid event with Marianne. That was not him. Then he sighed and gave in.

  
“When this is over, we tell them the truth.”

  
“We will.” Marianne nodded in agreement. “Uh, so why are you dressed up and over here?” She asked in an innocent tone.

  
“Oh.” He smiled, remembering why he was there in the first place. “I wanted to see if ye were busy this afternoon. I’m going into town and wanted to see if you’d come with me. As ye are.”

  
“Uh, you’re dressed up, and I’m not.” Marianne gave him a critical look. If he was dressed up, then she needed to change into something comparable. She had not been expecting to have to dress up since it was on the spur of the moment.

  
“Don’t worry about it.” Bog smiled. “I want to do something nice for ye today. Let me treat ye to lunch and something nice to wear. Yer choice. Something to take yer mind off things. We are working on a solution.”

  
“What are we, Bog?” Marianne scrunched up her face as she questioned him. “To each other?”

  
“If ye get to stay. What do ye want?” He offered her his hand.

  
“I don’t know.” Marianne stared at his hand, then took it. “Are you seriously buying me clothes? That jerk bought me clothes, but I hated them.”

  
“Should I not?” Bog looked confused. “I want ye to pick something nice out to wear on our date. Whatever ye want. I have a friend in town who has the perfect boutique. I think ye’ll like it. I would like to do this for ye. Let me?”

  
“You bought me a sword, Bog,” Marianne smirked. “Wasn’t that enough?”

  
“Let’s say I’m old fashioned and I want to buy the woman I like something nice as a gift. No strings attached. I swear.” He waited. Marianne looked at him awkwardly and fidgeted with indecision. She didn’t actually have anything nice to wear. She had destroyed all the clothing Roland had bought her.

  
Marianne had only packed her most basic comfortable clothing when she had left home. She didn’t even have a nice pair of shoes. Paying off Roland was still draining her bank account. “If ye would like to go in and change, I can wait.” Bog tried not to look disappointed and was failing at it.

  
“So, you’re courting me?” Marianne continued pulling Bog away from the house. “You actually want a real relationship with me? Not a ‘friends with benefits’ thing?”

  
Bog’s face didn’t seem able to go to any other color that wasn’t a shade of pink and red. “I am annoyingly traditional, Marianne.” He was losing his smile, and his eyes were full of sadness. “Do ye want that, or do ye want the other?”

  
“I don’t know what I want,” Marianne admitted. “I honestly don’t.”

  
“How about I be me and ye be ye, and we figure that out as we go along? I am not interested in ‘friends with benefits.’ At all. I can be yer friend. I’m fine with that.” Bog stood firm and waited. “Are ye going to change or go like that?”

  
Marianne made a face then sighed. “I guess you can buy me something. But it can’t be expensive.”

  
“Ye owe me nothing, Marianne.” Bog smiled again, this time broad enough that she glimpsed his teeth. It was actually cuter than he probably thought it was. They were slightly crooked, and that was it. They made his smile unique. “No benefits.” He smirked and took her hand to lead her to his car. Bog made a mental note to be careful and precise that he did not want anything from Marianne. He was not that type of man.

-=-=-=-=-

Marianne stared at the price tag. It had taken her half an hour of wandering around the small boutique to find something that jumped out at her. Bog chatted with the store owner the entire time. Marianne sighed as she ran her fingers over the dusky pink sheer lace that flowed over the sleeves. It was a simple dress in a beautiful shade of dark rosy pink that faded into a deep purple at the bottom. It was light and flowy. Loose see-through fabric floated out from the waist. The fabric’s pattern resembled butterfly wings. She was in love with this particular dress. It was the type of thing she liked to wear if she had to dress up. It looked comfortable and wouldn’t restrict her movement. It was something that Roland would have steered her away from buying. He always wanted her in tighter, more revealing clothing. She sighed wistfully and began to hang the dress back up. She needed to choose something that wasn’t that expensive.

  
“You should try it on.” The boutique owner took the dress from Marianne’s hand before she could hang it up. She motioned to the dressing room in the back of the store. “I have some sandals that would look good with it.”

  
Marianne hesitated and looked at Bog. “I think I need to find something a little less dressy.” It was too expensive.

  
“Try it on, Marianne.” Bog smiled and gestured to the dressing room. “I get a discount, remember.”

  
“He does.” The owner took Marianne’s hand and led her back to the dressing room.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog couldn’t stop smiling when Marianne came out in the dress. She had on a pair of flat-soled sandals with matching pink and purple beads on the straps to go with it. He had never seen her in anything but jeans, shorts, and shirts. He had assumed she was the kind of girl that didn’t like dresses or anything like that, and that was fine.

  
Marianne stepped out and turned one way. Then she shifted at the hip, letting the dress wrap around her legs and then unfurl. The solid cloth stopped above her knees, and the sheer panels fluttered down to her ankles. The neckline was a wide scoop neck. Marianne had adjusted it to show off her left shoulder and every beautiful line along the way. It reminded him of when she had stolen his shirt and wore it in exactly the same way. “What do you think?” Marianne couldn’t help but feel shy knowing that Bog was looking her over. A light pink blush spread over her shoulders and face.

  
“Perfect?” Bog whispered. “We’ll take it and the shoes.” Bog turned away, trying to hide the silly grin he knew was on his face. If she liked things like that, he was more than happy to buy them. He would have her dress and shoe size without asking her for them.

  
“Shouldn’t I get higher heels?” Marianne glanced at her sandals and whispered to the boutique owner. “He’s so tall.”

  
“Marianne, if you can make a man bow to you, do it.” The owner had giggled. “Especially THAT man.” Marianne wasn’t sure what to make of the statement.

-=-=-=-=-

They finished at the boutique, and Marianne wore her new dress and shoes out. They walked down the street to their next destination, Goldberg’s Jewelers. Bog made trips to the store several times a year for his mother. Jewelry was flashy and unnecessary in his eyes. Marianne didn’t seem to agree. He had never seen her with anything more than a simple necklace. But Bog noticed she was drawn to the necklaces and pendants the moment they entered the store. Bog had the sudden desire to adorn her neck and body with all the ropes of pearls, gold, diamonds, rubies, and precious stones he could get his hands on. It was the weirdest sensation.

  
Bog shook his head to get rid of the ridiculous thoughts. “I have to pick up something. Look around and see if something catches your eye.” He headed to the main counter.

-=-=-=-=-

Marianne glanced after Bog and scrunched up her face at him. Did he tell her to pick out something? She frowned and stepped away from the jewelry. She had sold everything valuable she had been given by Roland plus her own things. Jewelry was nice in small amounts, but it wasn’t necessary. There was no real value in it, and she scoffed at all the ‘love is a diamond’ commercialization. What was more important? A shiny little rock or a house? A car that ran without breaking down every week? Food in her kitchen and supplies in her studio? Jewelry wasn’t important. She didn’t want any of that.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog noticed Marianne had stopped looking and was standing near the door, waiting on him. He turned to his jeweler friend and smiled. “What do you think I should get her? Something that matches her dress. Something natural.” The jeweler smiled and walked to the back of his shop.

-=-=-=-=-

“Where to now?” Marianne took Bog’s arm as he offered it. He was holding a small bag from the jewelers, and she was curious to know what was in it.

  
“Lunch, then home.” Bog smiled, walking her to his car. He opened the door for her, waited for her to get in, then closed it. When he got in on the driver’s side, he took a large black box out of the bag and put it on Marianne’s lap. She looked from it to Bog.

  
“Bogdan. I didn’t want you to buy me anything. I don’t need jewelry. It’s all so stupid.” She was trying to be polite in declining it.

  
“Open it.” He twisted to toss the bag into the back seat. “If ye don’t want to keep it, ye don’t have to, but I would like ye to at least look at it.”

  
Marianne sighed and tapped the box with her fingers. She wasn’t sure what to expect. Please. Don’t be diamonds. Anything but diamonds. The box popped open. Inside was a simple double roped necklace of beautiful misshapen lavender river pearls. There were peach and white pearls interspersed among them. It wasn’t fancy or flashy. They were simple and pretty.

  
“Do you know what is nice about freshwater pearls? Even the most imperfect pearl is still beautiful.” Bog smiled at Marianne, hoping that she liked his gift. She was staring at them with her mouth open, thinking about what he was saying. She blinked, fighting off a sudden warm tingling sensation in her eyes. Marianne was not going to cry in front of him over this. She had done that enough. A single tear escaped, and Bog frowned. “Marianne? I’m sorry? Did I do something wrong?”

  
Marianne was worryingly silent for another minute. Then she picked the necklace up and turned to Bog, smiling and squinting her eyes to keep her emotions in check. “Please put them on me?” Bog was still concerned but took the necklace and fiddled with it a moment to make sure he had a good hold on the clasp. She turned her back to him, taking a moment to discretely run the back of her hand over her eyes. Bog slipped the necklace over Marianne’s head and fastened it around her neck. He smiled when she turned around, running her fingers over it. She was smiling, and that’s all that mattered.

-=-=-=-=-

The ride to the restaurant was short and silent. Marianne was still smiling, and Bog was a little confused, but everything seemed ok. Marianne ran her fingers over the irregularly shaped pearls in deep thought. She glanced at Bog. He was concentrating on finding a spot to park and not paying attention. He might not have been what everyone would want, but everyone didn’t want the same thing. Marianne didn’t even know he was what she would want until she had met him. She couldn’t deny that immediate spark that went deeper than appearance.

  
Marianne averted her eyes. He was at least a decade older than her. If he is 40, then he would only be hers for 40-60 years. Humans only lived 80 to 100 years compared to her 800 to 1,000. Just her luck. Still, what did it matter? He would pass away before her and never know what she was. Any children they might have would take after her. She would have a family of her own to love. She wouldn’t be alone.

  
Then Marianne smiled. That was not here or now. Right now, she had the attention of an amazingly kind man who was thoughtful and considerate. That was enough for someone who thought there would never be anyone at all. Now she needed to get rid of Roland, and Bog had assured her that the plan was in motion.

  
For a brief moment, Marianne considered telling Bog that she was an Arcadian. He knew about Arcadians. Then she remembered his reaction to the photos. No. Arcadians tended to have a reputation. THAT reputation. She didn’t want him to think of her like he did Roland. This was a secret she could hold. Marianne was as human as him. She just had a much longer life and the ability to blow up anything that annoyed her. She could keep this secret.

-=-=-=-=-

Lunch was at a nice seafood restaurant. Marianne couldn’t help but notice how everyone treated Bog. He was taken to the best table in the house and had the attention of most of the staff the entire time. They offered her wine but brought him root beer and water. It was kind of odd to see a bottle of root beer on the table next to her glass of Albariño.

  
Their meal was lavish. Bog had told Marianne to order whatever she wanted, and he did the same for himself. The owner came out, and Bog held a lengthy conversation with him in French. Flawless French. Marianne had tried not to stare. She had taken a few courses in it but was nowhere near as fluent. Then Marianne remembered that she had heard him speak other languages before. She was impressed.

  
After Marianne ordered, Bog ordered a few extra items for them to share that were on the extreme high end of the menu. Everything was delicious. Marianne couldn’t help but be happy when Bog didn’t seem to care that she enjoyed eating. Every time Marianne had been out with Roland, he had ordered for her. He was always nitpicking her choices and ordering salads for her. Marianne had grown to detest salads.

  
When they were done, and it was time for the bill to be delivered, Marianne noticed that there wasn’t one. Bog left a large pile of 20s on the table, but Marianne was still perplexed by the entire exchange. Now that she was thinking about it, she hadn’t seen a receipt, cash or card pass between him and anyone. The money on the table was a tip.

  
They left and took a stroll down Main Street to a small park. Everyone who passed them said hello to Bog, most referring to him as Mr. Laird. There were grown adults walking away, whispering. They were making noises that sounded like giggling. He introduced Marianne to everyone they met, and she began to feel self-conscious about it. Many of them gave her a skeptical look bordering on suspicion.

  
Others seemed to be reading something far more significant in her presence. These people all did exactly the same thing. When she was introduced, they looked at her, looked at Bog, looked back at her then smiled. Then they excused themselves with a head motion that looked suspiciously like a bow. These were the ones who would excitedly start talking and giggling as well. Bog looked uncomfortable every time they did it.

  
Marianne was dying to know exactly what was going on with these people. She had met some of them before, and they were ordinary everyday people. Something about her being with Bog made them treat her with a weird reverence.

  
Spending time with Bog in an everyday setting was nice. It was a crisp autumn day with a slight breeze. The trees still held almost full crowns of golden orange and red leaves. It was all nice, quiet, and normal. Unfortunately, there were other people around, and they were watching them. It was disconcerting.

  
“That is enough!” Bog stopped walking and turned around to everyone who was within earshot. The park was full of people enjoying the beautiful weather. All eyes fixed on Bog, and Marianne wished she could crawl away somewhere and hide. He didn’t say anything more, just glared intensely. People began getting up and leaving as though they had been reprimanded by a parent. They scattered.

  
Bog sighed. He had thought his people would have the decency to ignore him and Marianne. But no, they had to stare because this was something they had never seen with him before. He was actually out with a woman. The Lyceans all knew what was going on. They were a bunch of idiotic, love crazy, well-meaning people who were happy for him. But they were going to scare Marianne if they kept it up. He was going to have to have a talk with them about ignoring him when he was out with Marianne.

  
“Don’t mind them. They’re stunned by how beautiful ye are.” He paused, wrapping an arm around Marianne’s shoulders. “And how ugly I am.” Marianne was not set at ease by Bog’s explanation. There was something weird about how everyone treated Bog. For a guy that seemed to rarely leave his home and not be social at all, there was a strange level of respect from everyone they met. It did not match her perception of Bog.

  
“Don’t say that, Bog.” Marianne leaned against him. “Don’t say you’re ugly.”

  
“It’s the truth.” He shrugged, his shoulders slumping forward and head down. “Big nose. Skinny face. Too much cheekbone. Bony. Too tall. Too thin. Covered in cuts and bruised up. It’s the truth.”

  
Marianne slid her arms around Bog, positioning herself in front of him so that his face was above hers. “It is not.”

  
“Just because you say words to deny something doesn’t change the truth.” Bog smiled, nuzzling the top of her head and hugging her. “It doesn’t matter. It’s something I’ve had plenty of time to get used to.”

  
“You know, you keep saying I’m beautiful, and that’s not what anyone outside my family would say about me.” Marianne took a deep breath. “I don’t understand why you are even here. I don’t understand why you took me out today. I don’t understand anything you have done for me.”

  
“I like ye.” Bog muttered.

  
“Nobody likes me,” grumbled Marianne. “I’m paranoid, get mad fast, and people annoy me. I don’t get along with other women because they’re all about expensive vacations, clothes, jewelry, and so much stupid! Fake, stupid people! And men, seriously! They all want me to answer to them and do everything they tell me to do! I don’t see the point.” Her voice dropped to a whisper.

  
“Yer different.” Bog chuckled softly into her hair.

  
“So I’ve been told,” groaned Marianne.

  
“That’s what I like!” Bog laughed a little more excitedly than he meant to. “I mean, that’s fine. I don’t care either. I really like ye, Marianne. I like ye as ye are.”

  
“I like you too.” Marianne tilted her head up, intending to kiss Bog. She met the palm of his hand instead.

  
“No.” Bog took a step back with a grin on his face. “I said I would take ye out no strings attached and that I didn’t want anything. And after yer little rant, this is best.”

  
“Hey!” Marianne tried to get around his hand. Bog danced back. He was fast for such a tall man! “I want to kiss you!”

  
“No!” Bog laughed and turned away from her. “We are friends, and that’s how we went out today.”

  
“This isn’t fair!” Marianne lunged, grabbing him around the waist as he tried to get away. “I can’t even reach you!” Bog chuckled, half dragging Marianne with him in the direction of his car. A few people passing by stopped to watch with smiles on their faces, then walked away. Their King had his hands full with his Queen.

-=-=-=-=-

A massive grin crossed Roland’s face as he read the lab report in his email. The results from the blood samples he had dropped off that morning were in. He chuckled. The report changed everything about how he would proceed with his attack on October 31st. He had done his research into Marianne’s neighbor. He knew his name and that he had resided in the same home for over 30 years with his mother. That meant there were two he would have to deal with. Two Rex Regis Lyceans.

  
Roland was going to need help with this, but only his closest friends. He didn’t need anyone upstaging his hunt. Rex Regis were considered the most dangerous type of Lycean. If these two had hidden out peacefully for decades, then they could be taken off-guard. Roland had learned early in his career that if you hunted Lyceans who were NOT an active threat, they were easy prey. They panicked. They always ran. They were targets. Even though these were Rex Regis, the Kings of all Lyceans, they would be no different. He would get paid to take them out and turn over their bodies. Or, he could try to capture one or both of them and turn them into registered hunting Lyceans. That would be difficult, but it wouldn’t be impossible and would be a powerful status symbol. Controlling a Lycean for use in hunting was common, but there had never been a Rex Regis registered. Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update on the 21st!  
Comments are lovely. :D
> 
> Well, this courtship is off to a fun start. :D Bog does weird things. :D


	10. October 20th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bog tells Marianne the plan.

**October 21st**

Bog sat with his mother. The box holding the sterling silver necklace was on the coffee table between them. There was a lit candle sitting next to the box. “Okay, so I’m going to use wax on my fingertips to pick up the necklace and give it to Marianne and then tell her how to use it.”

  
“Yes.” His mother nodded. “When she gets here, give it to her along with the taser. When the hunter shows up, she needs to taser him and bind him with the silver rope. Then she calls you, and you can help bind him more securely. You need to stay near her at all times.”

  
“Okay.” Bog took a deep breath. He blew out the candle, stuck his fingers in the wax then let them cool. He tentatively went for the necklace. His fingertips touched it, and nothing happened. Bog picked it up then dropped it back in the box. “That works. Hopefully, she won’t look too close.” He took his other hand and touched the silver for a second. A spark shot out of the box, and Bog yelped. He grabbed his finger and winced as smoke rose from a noticeable burn. “Well, I guess that proves it’s pure.”

  
“What are you going to tell her if you make an error.” His mother looked at him in concern.

  
“The truth. I won’t have a choice.” Bog sighed, closing the box. “And the rest of the plan is to bring him here?”

  
“Yes. I will wipe all memories of Marianne from his mind.” Zelda stated. “And everything from the last year. We don’t want him to even remember coming here.”  
“It will be permanent?”

  
“It will weaken if he sees Marianne in person. It will break if he looks into her eyes or interacts with her at all. You need to tell Marianne that.”

  
Bog nodded. “If she stays here, I don’t see how she’ll ever run into Roland again. I’ll have him taken far from here. We think he is staying somewhere nearby, but not everyone knows to look out for him.”

  
“Bog, I know you don’t want to kill a man.” His mother sighed, rubbing her temples. “But I can’t help but feel this will not be permanent.”

  
“It could be.” Bog hoped it would work. He couldn’t imagine killing someone and didn’t want to. The look on Roland’s face in the photos he had seen frightened him. He didn’t want to be like Roland. He wasn’t a murderer.

-=-=-=-

Bog held a strand of the necklace between his wax-covered fingertips. He dropped it into the box and handed it to Marianne. She took it in her hands, curiously. “Really, a necklace?”

  
“The silver will stop his ability to pass through anything, like say ropes. Yer going to tase him, tie him up, and call me.” Bog stated. “I will be nearby. He’s going to make a move at some point. Keep these things out of sight of the cameras. They’re still on, aren’t they?”

  
“Yeah.” Marianne winced. “I hate the fact he’s watching.”

  
“Yes, but we know that he’s going to show up if the cameras go out.”

  
“Uh. Are you still watching the cameras?”

  
“I check on ye, yes.” Bog lowered his eyes and stared at the floor. “I can delete the app if ye would like.” He neglected to mention he had people watching the house, and he didn’t look as often as he would if they weren’t there.

  
“Not right now. I already know Roland is watching me. It doesn’t matter who else is.” Marianne took the silver necklace and put it around her neck. Bog blinked. Oh, that was going to cause a problem. He hadn’t thought that she might put it on.

  
“Maybe you should keep it in your pocket, so he doesn’t see it. He probably knows his own weakness.”

  
Marianne frowned at the suggestion. “Yeah, you’re right.” She pocketed it instead and then picked up the taser. It looked like a small flashlight. She laughed. “Well, now I’m just Veronica Mars for Halloween.”

  
“Worked well with her.” Bog chuckled.

  
“What are you going to do with him if this works?” Marianne slipped the taser into her other pocket and grumbled at how shallow it was. She was going to need to find something with deeper pockets to put them in.

  
“We’re going to have all memories of you removed. Then we’re going to take him somewhere far from here and leave him with a serious case of amnesia.” Bog explained. “I was told that he can never see ye, talk to ye or interact with ye or it’ll come back.”

  
Marianne nodded. “Which means I should be okay to stay here?”

  
“Yes.” Bog smiled. “As long as ye want.” Marianne sat quietly with a thoughtful smile on her face. Then she got up, walked over to Bog, and sat on his lap. He leaned back, unsure of what she was going to do.

  
Marianne rested her head on Bog’s shoulder and looked him in the eyes. She reached out to gently caress the left side of his face. The small cuts he had were healing, and he hadn’t shaved in several days because of them. Marianne ran her fingers through his stubble, and he stared at her curiously. “About that John Wick costume.” She grinned.

  
“I already have a good costume, Marianne.” Bog grinned. “But if that’s what ye want, I think I can scrounge up an old suit and tie that would work. Got friends who can help me with the bloody look, because these should be healed up by then.” He ran a hand through his facial hair. “Stuff is a hairstylist.” He groaned. “Oh, she’ll love this. I’ve been lazy, so might actually look the part kinda in the dark. Keanu’s better looking than me.”

  
“Don’t start that again.” Marianne gave him a warning look, then leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose. “Don’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, a short chapter! YAY!!!! (I have a November chapter that is over 9,000 words long... so much happens on one day.) I am currently up to November 13th.  
Next update will be on the 23rd!


	11. October 23rd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday to Bog!  
Oh, how he hates his birthday and his mother is up to something, starting with getting Marianne up (before 9) and at his house to take him out and distract him for an entire day!  
I didn't realize how beat up he was in the face until I had to ink the bruises, cuts, and bandaids. :D

**October 23rd**

Marianne took a deep breath. It was 6:45 AM, and she needed to get Bog out of his house by 7 AM. Marianne had her instructions from Bog’s mother. One of the things she had warned her about had almost made her change her mind. At some point, Bog was very likely to figure out what was going on, and when he did, he would be angry. He would throw a tantrum. That information had immediately worried Marianne. She had seen him angry and wasn’t sure what he would do if he were mad at her. His mother had reassured her that he would stop immediately if Marianne told him to. He would sulk for a while, then accept what was going on. Bog was not allowed to drive because he would immediately come home, and they needed him away for at least 12 hours.

  
Zelda had given her several other tips on how to snap Bog out of one of his moods. She was sure he would try things to persuade her to take him home or let him drive. He wouldn’t try to steal her car or anything. But if Marianne let him drive, he would come back with or without her permission.

  
Bog’s mother told her that is was fine to yell at him, put her foot down, and do anything else she felt she needed to. This was a rare situation. They had something big planned for Bog for his birthday, and he hated being the center of attention. He hated celebrating his birthday.

  
What followed was a sad account of why Bog hated his birthday. He had told this to his mother that he wished he had never been born. He had a tough childhood, and he was a sensitive boy. Zelda didn’t go into details beyond that. Marianne was more moved to be with him after hearing what he had told his mother. Nobody should feel that way on any day, let alone their birthday.

  
Bog’s birthday was a massive trigger for him. However, he had Marianne this year. Zelda was confident that Marianne would be able to sway Bog into being himself. She would be able to keep him from turning into an angry, self-loathing pile of paranoia. It sounded like a big job. But Zelda managed to convince Marianne that she would be fine, and so would he, especially when he came home. She wouldn’t tell Marianne what the gift was, in case Bog tried to wheedle it out of her.

  
Marianne had to convince Bog to go to a farm outside of town. They were going to pick apples and pumpkins for making pie and jack-o-lanterns. She wasn’t to let on that she knew it was Bog’s birthday. She was to say that her mom had suggested it and that Marianne was going to cook Bog a pie. Then she had to make other plans without telling him what they were throughout the day. The plan was set, and now it was time to move it into motion. Marianne’s part in the gift was to manage Bog throughout the day.

  
She was dressed, courtesy of Dawn, in a nice long-sleeved red-checkered flannel shirt. Beneath it was a white t-shirt that said #NOTaPrincess on it in shiny silver lettering. Marianne had made sure to wear jeans and sturdy hiking boots, knowing that she was going to be walking. She was dressed to catch Bog’s attention and keep it.

  
Marianne rang the doorbell. Bog answered the door with a piece of toast hanging from his mouth. A confused look flashed onto his face when he saw Marianne up and actually awake. “Good morning, Marianne?” He looked at her suspiciously.

  
“Good morning. I thought I would surprise you with a trip out to Harvest Farms. Your mom thought I should take YOU on a date.” The look on Bog’s face was priceless. The rest of the toast fell from his mouth, and he turned slowly to look back inside the house.

  
“Mother.” Bog said it in an accusing way.

  
“You should go out and have a good time with Marianne!” Bog’s mother called from somewhere in the house. “Go on! I don’t need you moping around here all day. I also need a bunch of apples and pumpkins! I have a ton of baking to do, and we need to make a few jack-o-lanterns!”

  
Bog turned back to Marianne with a sour look on his face. She smiled at him, and he sighed. He couldn’t say no to such a simple thing. “Let me get my shoes on. Come in.” Bog went inside with the thought that his mother had put Marianne up to this. She wanted to get him out of the house for a reason. He walked into the kitchen where his mother was at the table, eating her breakfast. “Ye did not tell Marianne what today is, did ye?”

  
“Why would I do that?” She whispered back. “I just need apples and pumpkins, Dear. You’re so good at picking out the right ones and know exactly how many we need.”

  
Bog stared at his mother. “Ye better not be planning anything. NO surprises, Mom! NO parties!” He glanced up and was glad to see that Marianne was probably still waiting in the living room.

-=-=-=-=-

  
Bog returned with suitable walking shoes a few minutes later. He settled onto a couch across from Marianne to put them on. Shoes were so annoying. He preferred walking around barefoot. But you didn’t go walking around in an orchard or a field without proper shoes.

  
Marianne waited on the couch. She considered backing out of this plan and doing something else with Bog. He was not in a good mood to start with. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be stuck in a car with him for longer than a few minutes. Then she got up and sat down next to him. “Why are you so grumpy? Your mom said you loved going out and doing this.”

  
“I do.” Bog sighed, working on his laces. “I just woke up in a bad mood today. I’m sorry. I’m sure it’ll get better.” Marianne put a hand on his shoulder and slid it up to his face, avoiding the bruise and bandage. She brushed his unruly black hair out of his eyes and leaned forward to kiss him. Bog immediately stopped what he was doing to turn and embrace her, pulling her closer. They kissed for several minutes, which was plenty of time to lift Bog’s mood.

  
“I’m driving!” Marianne declared, pulling back with a grin before Bog was ready to let her go. She bounced off the couch and twirled her keys around one finger.

  
“Why? I have a truck. It’ll hold more stuff.” Bog finished tying his laces, hoping he could catch her before she got out the door for another kiss and hug.

  
“You drove me around for our date. I’m driving you around. It’ll be fine. I laid down the back seats for more room.” Marianne walked to the door and held it open, waiting for Bog to join her.

  
“Will I fit? That’s the more important question.” Bog headed for Marianne, hands up in preparation for grabbing her. He was smiling now and had a mischievous glint in his eyes. He jumped toward her, intending to catch her. Marianne laughed and darted out the door. Her car was parked in front of his house, and she had already put the seats down. She had also made sure that the passenger seat was moved back as far as it would go. Bog should have plenty of room in her little crossover on the passenger side.

-=-=-=-=-

  
They got on the road fine. Bog settled into the passenger seat with plenty of room and enjoyed the ride. It wasn’t often that he didn’t drive. “Your mom gave me a recipe and told me you might like it if I baked you a pie.”

  
“Ye can cook?” Bog gave her a skeptical look. From his understanding of things in Marianne’s house, Sunny and Dawn did all the cooking.

  
“I can follow a recipe,” Marianne grumbled.

  
“Following a recipe isn’t the same thing as cooking.” Bog leaned back in his chair and gave her a skeptical look. “Make me something from the heart, and then we can talk.”

  
“Oh, wow, Bog, are you that full of yourself?” Marianne shot him the weirdest face. It was a mix between a dirty look and a smirk. “I’ll have you know I can cook you under a table.”

  
“Oh, really?” Bog grinned. “I’d like to see ye try.” He had actually gotten a rise out of her over something as silly as cooking! He continued poking, amused by how feisty she looked. Wow, this was a new look on her, and he liked it. This could be a bad thing. She looked so fierce and cute at the same time, likely because she wasn’t really mad at him.

  
“For Thanksgiving. We’re going to have a cook-off!” Marianne almost clipped another car and yelped.

  
“Watch the road!” Bog cringed in his seat. Maybe picking a playful fight with her in the car while she was driving was not a good idea. He took a deep breath and smiled. “That sounds like fun.”

  
“Fun! Are you kidding me! I’m going to win!” Marianne took cooking seriously.

  
“Whoa whoa whoa!” The car in front of them had slowed down suddenly. Bog was thrown forward against his seatbelt as Marianne slammed on the brakes. The car behind them did the same with a screech. “Hey, calm down. I’m sorry I said it that way. Don’t get us into a wreck!”

  
Marianne took a deep breath. Here she was worried about Bog throwing a tantrum, and what had she done? He was managing her! Not the other way around. She took another big breath. Bog leaned over and kissed her to let her know it was all okay. “Eyes on the road, please.” He leaned back and smiled.

  
“Sorry about that.” Marianne smiled back. “But yeah, let’s do that for Thanksgiving!”

  
“Yer not going to try to kill me ta win, are ye?” Bog teased.

  
“All’s fair in love and competition!” Marianne smirked and kept her eyes on the road.

  
“That’s comforting.” Bog smiled and went back to watching the scenery going by. Lesson learned. Don’t tease Marianne while she’s driving.

-=-=-=-=-

  
Marianne could not keep up with Bog. He grabbed two large baskets for apples and a wagon and ran off into the orchard. The baskets bounced around and almost fell out. They managed to get to the trees without anything disastrous happening. Bog walked a little further, then immediately began going through apples.

  
“We’re looking for firm, unblemished apples.” Bog began picking as fast as he could, carefully setting the apples into the basket. “Be nice to them. These are Pink Lady apples. My favorite. Try one.” He tossed an apple to Marianne, who was standing next to the wagon, looking at him in bewilderment. She caught it, and after rolling it around in her hands, took a bite. Bog walked around the closest tree filling his arms with apples. Then he would roll them into a basket.

  
Marianne munched on her apple, staring at Bog. She knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to get the baskets full as quickly as possible. She was going to have to figure out a way to slow him down. Marianne grinned, and while Bog’s back was turned, walked off into the orchard. He was going to be annoyed, but it looked like an excellent place to get lost in.

  
There was only one problem. Bog found Marianne half an hour later. He proclaimed that he had finished filling the two baskets, so they could get them weighed and paid for. Then they could pick out pumpkins. Marianne thought she had done a good job of wandering far away. She had to have covered at least a mile in her walk. Yet, he had found her in less than five minutes.

  
Bog brought her back to where he left the baskets in another ten simply because she refused to run with him. The apple picking by itself should have taken an hour.

  
Bog didn’t seem to notice that Marianne was stalling. He thought she had wanted to go for a walk. He paid for the apples and loaded them into the car. Next were the pie pumpkins. He picked out half a dozen pie pumpkins that met his needs. They joined the apples in the car.

  
Marianne was getting annoyed with how manic Bog was acting. He took even less time grabbing pumpkins to carve. He picked out two good-sized pumpkins and several smaller ones. By the time they were done, Marianne’s car was full and had a pleasant smell of apples, pumpkins, and the outdoors. Marianne wouldn’t unlock the door for Bog when he went to the passenger side of the car, expecting to go.  
“They have hot chocolate and kettle corn!” Marianne motioned to the area set up near a corn maze. “And a corn maze! Come on, Bog, let’s go have some fun!” Bog had actually given her a baleful look. It only lasted a few seconds, but she saw it and realized that he might be suspecting something. Marianne ran up to him and threw her arms around him. He had his back to the car and couldn’t go anywhere. Marianne lifted up on her tiptoes and ran her fingers through his hair while kissing him. “Let’s. Go. Have. Fun.” She gave him a playful smirk sliding both hands down his neck and chest. He forgot what he was doing and took her hand.

  
That bought half an hour longer. They shared hot chocolate, apple cider, and sweet kettle corn. Then Marianne managed to get Bog to do the corn maze with her. There was one problem. Bog figured it out in record time, and even though she tried to stall him, they were out faster than she intended. It was 10 AM when they headed back to the car. Marianne’s plan to keep Bog out had them leaving after 11, so they could go to town for lunch. She also had a fun couples project she had decided on.

  
Bog jumped in the car the moment it was unlocked, buckled himself in, and checked the time. “Great, we’ll be home for lunch.”

  
“We’re going downtown for lunch. I’m treating you.” Marianne pulled out of the field that was serving as the parking lot for the farm. There were a lot more cars out now, and she was trying to be careful.

  
“Okay, but we’ll be unloading all this at home, then going out.” Bog stated, looking at Marianne.

  
“No, we’re going downtown. We don’t need to go home yet.”

  
And then it happened. Bog’s expression changed, and he became very still. He stared at the window and began fidgeting with his hands. He clenched his fists and wrang his hands, thinking. He made a groaning noise and hit his forehead on the window. Then he turned to glare at Marianne. “Why ye wee little traitor! Ye played me!” A look of rage and hurt at being betrayed clouded Bog’s blue eyes. “Home. Now. My mom put ye up to this, didn’t she?! What are they doing?! Marianne, what are they doing?!”

  
“Knock it off, Bogdan!” Marianne snapped at him. He immediately recoiled against the side of the car, glaring at her. He was so upset, he was shaking.

  
“Marianne! I want to go home!” Bog’s voice took on a growly quality. His anger was shifting to simply being upset and anxious. “Oh no, what are they doing?!” He buried his head in his hands and kept repeating the same thing. “I hate surprises! I have to stop them!”

  
“Seriously, Bog, why is this such a big deal?” Marianne rolled her eyes at him trying to keep her attention on the road. “I don’t know what they’re doing, but it’s your birthday! It wouldn’t be anything bad.”  
“Ye don’t understand. My mom is crazy! There is no telling what she might do! Whatever it is will be embarrassing.” Bog moaned, folded his arms, and sunk into his seat to stare out the window and ignore Marianne. He sulked and would not respond to anything. Bog trembled off and on. Every few minutes, he would breathe like he was having a difficult time catching his breath.

  
Marianne grumbled as she drove. She wasn’t sure how long she could tolerate dealing with an almost 7-foot tall 200-pound five-year-old. By the time they reached town, Bog was still muttering at her. But he had accepted that he wasn’t getting home anytime soon. He made it known he was angry as they walked down the town’s main street. He walked hunched over, hands in his pockets, and glaring at everyone who got too close. Marianne had been hesitant to touch him at first, but she put an arm around his and led him down the sidewalk.

  
Bog walked like an angry dog on a leash. He went where Marianne took him, but would not talk and sulked the entire time. She ended up in a secluded area of the park with him trying to use his mother’s advice to snap him out of it. By that time, his anger had turned into mopey sadness. The man really hated his birthday and surprises. He couldn’t justify taking it out on Marianne. He desperately wanted to go home and catch his mother in whatever it was she was doing.

  
Bog was trembling and breathing shallowly again. He was swaying unsteadily as he walked and clenching and unclenching his hands. Every few moments, he would rub his chest. It was then that Marianne noticed what was really happening. Bog wasn’t being a bratty child throwing a tantrum. He was having a panic attack.

  
“Bogdan.” Marianne clutched his arm and guided him to a nearby tree. She sat down against the trunk and pulled him down with her. “Lay down with your head on my lap. You’re having a panic attack.”  
“What?” Bog stared at her in confusion resisting for a moment.

  
“Please do what I said. I can help.” Marianne touched his face, and Bog scowled at her, then sighed and did what she said. “I’ve had them, and I know how to stop them.” Bog laid on his back and grumbled about the cold hard ground. Marianne began running her hands through his hair and over his temples, massaging him.

  
“You’re having a panic attack. It’s okay. Nothing is actually happening to you.”

  
“Easy for you to say. My heart’s trying to escape.” Bog winced and ran a hand over his chest.

  
“Close your eyes and breathe deeply and slowly.” Marianne began touching Bog’s face. She was trying to relax him with one hand on his forehead while the other traced his features. “Think about something that makes you happy.”

  
Bog sighed, and after a few minutes, the trembling stopped. He relaxed and laid there, enjoying Marianne’s attention. “I am just the greatest catch.” Bog muttered with a scowl opening his eyes to look up at Marianne.

  
“Bog, you’re going to have another one if you don’t stop that.” Marianne lightly slapped the side of his head. He winced and grabbed her hand, then he smiled and kissed her fingers. “You need to remain calm and relaxed.”

  
“That’s hard to do, Marianne.” Bog scowled and moved her hand back up to the side of his head. “Very hard. I don’t want to talk about it. Today is hard. They’re in my house doing things, and I don’t know what they are doing, but that’s my house.” He began trembling again but only briefly.

  
“Your mother loves you, Bog. What do you think they’re doing that’s going to be so awful? Decorate, bake you a cake, make you a nice dinner? Jump out and yell Happy Birthday!”

  
Bog stared up at Marianne with a frown. “Marianne, my father died on my 6th birthday. He died because of me.”

  
“Oh.” That made everything click together. Marianne felt terrible for her part in today. His mother meant well, but she didn’t seem to understand how traumatic this day was for Bog. “Don’t talk about it today. Tell me another day?”

  
“I will.” Bog sighed. “Thank you, Marianne.” He pushed himself up and leaned against the tree, turning his attention to her. He took her in his arms and pulled her against his chest. “I am sorry about today. This is not the best of me.”

  
“I understand.” Marianne settled into his arms. “But you need to see someone about the panic attacks.”

  
“Maybe.” Bog shrugged. “Or I just keep ye around.” He managed a smile and kissed the top of Marianne’s head. Bog squeezed her and inhaled. Her unique smell was always so comforting. Girls smelled good in general. Marianne smelled divine.

  
“Are you okay now?”

  
“I think so.” Bog sighed, concentrating on Marianne. If he could keep his focus on her and not let it waver, he might be able to make it through to the end of the day. “What time do I get to go home?”

  
“7.”

“That’s ugh… 8 hours from now!” Bog threw his head back against the tree trunk. “What are we going to do for 8 hours?”

  
“Oh, I don’t know. This is nice.” Marianne closed her eyes for a moment and listened to his heart beating. It had slowed down to a normal pace. “Relax here for a little while. Then we’ll have lunch and go do something fun I have planned for us.”

  
“What did ye plan?” Bog sounded excited.

  
“You’ll see.”

-=-=-=-=-

  
Marianne couldn’t afford a fancy lunch. But she could get soup and sandwiches from one of the little downtown restaurants for the two of them. Bog didn’t say anything or try to pay for it. However, Marianne missed him shaking his head no to the server when he took her card.

  
From there, they spent a little bit of time walking and wasting time. Marianne assumed that since it was Wednesday afternoon, things wouldn’t be that busy, and they weren’t. Bog and Marianne were alone. They talked and enjoyed each other’s company.

  
At 3 PM, Marianne took Bog into a little art shop that did painting parties. Bog was a little startled when he realized what they were doing. He was a professional painter, so he had never had any interest in them, but if Marianne wanted to do it, he would too.

  
They were given a selection of subjects, then blank canvases and pencils to begin with. Bog didn’t see what Marianne chose, and Marianne didn’t see what he picked out. They set up on easels next to each other, and Marianne went off to buy a glass of red wine.

  
Bog was already done penciling in the image he was supposed to create, which wasn’t quite what he had chosen. He was more than capable of doing what he wanted freeform and had decided to paint this one for Marianne. For an artist herself, the walls in her house had very little art.

  
Marianne sat next to him, sipping her wine. “This is for fun, Bog.” She grinned.

  
“Do ye know how to paint?” Bog was already beginning on his. “Yer a graphic artist, so I assume ye can paint.”

  
“Graphic Designer.” Marianne winced. “I haven’t painted in years, and I honestly never found my style. Not like you.” Marianne leaned over to look at Bog’s canvas. “I mean, look at you. You’re not even using a grid!”

  
“I always hated using grids. So confining.” Bog smiled at Marianne. “Stop talking to me and work on yer own piece. Yer the one who wanted to do this. Show me what ye got. I look forward to seeing it.”

  
“I may end up drinking wine and watching you paint.” Marianne sipped her wine and stared at the blank canvas.

-=-=-=-=-

  
Two hours later found Bog sitting on his stool with his painting turned away from Marianne. He didn’t want her seeing the finished piece. Marianne didn’t mind as he watched her put the finishing touches on hers. Her painting wasn’t bad. It was a simple butterfly with purple and blue wings and golden pinpoints scattered over the wingtips. It was fluttering against a golden orange backdrop of fall leaves. It had come out nice.

  
Marianne was pleased with herself and had a good time with the process. The event was over, and the instructor was walking by talking to people as they packed up to leave. She complimented Marianne, then she walked around behind Bog and did a double-take.

  
“You have to show off, don’t you, Mr. Laird?” She was smiling at him. “Can we take a picture of you with it and use it for our advertising? A pro coming in is always nice.”

  
Bog had turned a little pink at the compliment. “Of the painting, yes. Me. No. You know how I am.”

  
“Camera shy.” The instructor sighed. “You can leave your paintings here to dry and pick them up before 9 tonight.”

  
“So, what did you end up painting?” Marianne got up, and so did Bog.

  
“Well. Well.” Bog murmured, stepping back so Marianne could see. He felt shy about it and stared at the floor.

  
Marianne stopped in front of the painting and stared at it. He had painted what looked like a green man in shades of grey and brown. Leaves curled over his head, falling in short waves. The figure was heavily armored, scarred, scratched up, and had a fierce expression. He had tattered, worn dragonfly wings. He resembled Bog down to the brilliant blue eyes.

  
In his arms, his eyes lovingly focused on her, was a pixie faced faerie. She had short brown hair that swept wildly into the air. Beautiful purple wings flared out from her back, and she was looking up into his eyes.

  
“Wow.” Marianne looked from the painting to Bog, who was still staring at the floor. “Bog. Wow.” She looked back at the painting. “You’re amazing.”

  
“So ye like it?” Bog ventured shyly. His work was always deeply personal and often embarrassing to him when others saw it in person. He didn’t like to be around his paintings when others knew they were by him. “I figured we could swap them. I would like ye to have mine.”

  
“Really?” Marianne grinned. “And you want my crappy painting?”

  
“It is not crappy.” Bog snorted, leaning down to look her in the eyes. “It is a perfectly lovely painting, and I will hang it in my bedroom.” Then he grabbed her and kissed her, which was considerably more heated than usual. Something which also didn’t go unseen as a low tittering sound rose up around them.

  
“What?” Bog snapped at whoever was watching.

  
“That is so gross, Mr. Bog!” A group of children that had come into the room. They started laughing and pointing, making the whole thing uncomfortable.

  
“This is how ye get here.” Bog grunted, putting an arm around Marianne and guiding her toward the exit. He got a disapproving look from their teacher and glared back as they passed through the door.

-=-=-=-=-  
Marianne felt like she was walking on air. Kissing Bog was always nice, but wow, that one was different. She knew she had a goofy smile on her face but couldn’t get rid of it no matter how hard she tried. She felt so happy, warm, and light.

  
“Ugh, it’s only 5:30. I can’t wait.” Bog began fidgeting again, which Marianne knew by now meant that shaking was soon to follow. She turned and swung herself into him so hard that he almost tripped over her. “Maybe ye have had a wee too much to drink, Marianne.” He chuckled as his focus immediately shifted to her.

  
“Maybe.” Marianne giggled, deciding that might be the best thing to fake at the moment. The two glasses of wine she had were already out of her system. Right now, she was drunk on emotion.

  
“Well, ye can’t drive then.” Bog began stroking her hair, looking down at her lovingly. “I can.”

  
“Nope. Your mom said 7PM.”

  
“Please, Marianne, I would like to go home.” Bog gave her a pleading look, still running his fingers through her hair. “I do not like this.”

  
“You’re fine.” Marianne lifted a hand to his face and ran it up behind his ear. “It’s not that long to wait. Let’s go back to the park for a little while, then pick up our paintings and head home. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”

-=-=-=-=-

  
The last hour and a half dragged by with the pair ending up back in the park. Then they picked up their paintings, got in the car, and Marianne drove them home. Bog had asked again if he could drive, which she turned down immediately. She had a suspicion that he would have sped back if he could have.

  
Bog was anxious and fidgetting the entire way home. It was only a few minutes drive, and he could only focus on home and the horror that awaited him. As they turned down the street that led to theirs, Bog noticed there more cars than usual lined on the streets. He sat up and stared.

  
Marianne noticed all the cars too. It made it a little trickier in places where the road narrowed, but she had a smaller vehicle, so it wasn’t too bad. Bog’s mother had not told her anything about what they were doing. This many cars that meant there would be a lot of people. And a lot of people was something that she knew Bog did not want. She hoped he wouldn’t have another panic attack and considered stopping to call his mother first.

“Keep going.” Bog sighed as he felt the car slowing. “I’m fine. Get it over with.” He folded his arms and sank back into his seat with a look of pure misery on his face.

  
They turned a corner, and then Bog could see his house just beyond hers. He sat up, leaning toward the dash with one hand on Marianne’s arm. “What… what did they do?”

  
“I’m seeing this the same time you are.” Marianne gaped. Bog stared wide-eyed and silent as they got closer, then Marianne pulled into an open spot in front of his house. Cars lined the street. There was a considerable number of people, adults, and children standing around Bog’s home and in front of Marianne’s.

  
Bog staggered out of the car, and Marianne joined him. She wasn’t sure how he was going to react. But Bog wasn’t shaking or doing anything more than staring at the scene before him. The western town display that had been burnt to the ground had been rebuilt that day. If it weren’t for the scorch marks on the ground here and there, it would have looked like nothing had happened. The Halloween decorations had exploded around his house and infected Marianne’s too.

  
Marianne could see the gates to Bog’s backyard, and her own was open. The smell of grilling hamburgers and hot dogs filled the air. She assumed Dawn and Sunny were somewhere in the mass of people. People began waving at Bog and walking by, wishing him a happy birthday and leaving. They were dispersing.

  
Soon their numbers were down to a more comfortable level. Bog stood there, staring in astonishment for a good fifteen minutes. Marianne got the impression that all the people who were here knew better than to crowd Bog. They seemed to all want to see how he was reacting and then left with smiles on their faces. She got that weird feeling again that something was off about her perception of Bog. She was missing something.

  
“I can’t believe they did this.” Bog whispered, still looking up and down his yard. It was full of kids running in and out of the houses, laughing, playing, and enjoying dinner. “I don’t understand why they would.”

  
“It’s your birthday?” Marianne grinned, taking his arm. “Come on, let’s go inside. I haven’t seen your mom or friends or my sister and Sunny.”

  
“Oh, no. Uh, let’s go to the backyard instead. I’m hungry. How about ye?” Bog had the sneaky suspicion if he went inside, someone was going to jump out and yell ‘Happy Birthday!’. That was the last thing he wanted.

  
Bog’s friends and mother anticipated that Bog would try to avoid going straight into his home. They were waiting for him, and the moment he came into sight, everyone shouted, “Happy Birthday.” Bog staggered back and almost crashed into Marianne.

  
“Get out of my backyard!” He shouted in response. He glanced at Marianne, his face a mixture of confusion and embarrassment. Then he stormed up the back steps ran across his deck and into his house, slamming the door behind him.

  
There was the sound of stomping feet echoing through the house. Then another group of people shouted, “Happy birthday!”

  
“Get out of my house!” Bog yelled, followed by more stomping and another door slamming.

  
“Uh, is he all right?” Marianne winced as his mother approached her.

  
“Oh, he’s fine. He’ll come down in a little bit and be okay as long as nobody says Happy Birthday to him again.” Bog’s mother grinned, thoroughly amused by what she had done. “We should go and have a little talk. Hungry? We can talk while you eat.”

  
Marianne glanced at the house, sighed, then smiled. She had spent the day keeping Bog in check and stable. He didn’t need her to babysit him, and she wanted one of the burgers she could smell cooking. She also needed to talk to Bog’s mother about his panic attacks.

-=-=-=-=-

  
Bog took a deep breath as he settled onto his bed in the dark. He needed a few minutes to recover and be in his own room. He had begun shaking and immediately started doing the things Marianne had taught him to do. He took a long slow breath and closed his eyes, thinking about her. She had been very patient with him and his stupid antics. He was going to have to make up for how he had behaved.

-=-=-=-=-

  
“So maybe don’t do something like this again,” Marianne suggested to Bog’s smiling mother.

  
“He gets over it. It’s all fine.”

  
Marianne stared at her. She wasn’t getting it. Maybe it was her generation? Marianne sighed.

  
“You did a good job keeping Bogdan away. I hope he wasn’t too troublesome.”

  
“No. He wasn’t.” Marianne took a bite of her burger and munched on a few chips thoughtfully.

  
“Mother.” Bog stood behind Marianne and growled at his mother.

  
“Evening, Bogdan. Why don’t you get something to eat? I even baked you your favorite cake.”

  
“Is anybody singing?” Bog glanced around with a look of panic on his face

.  
“No. We’re done. Don’t worry about it, Bog.” His mother chuckled. Bog sighed in response and went off to prepare himself a plate.

  
“Marianne, you two should get married.” Bog’s mother leaned in and whispered. She didn’t want Bog catching her suggesting this. “As soon as possible.”

  
“Uhm.” Marianne squirmed and blushed. She glanced at Bog, who was piling a couple of hot links onto a hamburger that already had two patties on it. “We’re not, we’re uh.” She scrunched up her face. She still wasn’t sure what they were or what she wanted.

  
“He loves you,” Zelda stated with a smile. “Can’t you tell? Why wait when it’s certain?” Marianne sighed and took another bite of her burger, thinking about what she was saying. She was Bog’s mother. She knew him better than anyone. “He loved you the moment he met you. That’s why he’s so shy around you.”

  
Marianne looked up again to see Bog laughing about something with Brutus. His mood seemed to have improved. He didn’t seem to have any problems talking to his friends. Or anyone else for that matter. She thought back to the weird occurrences where Bog outright ordered people around. They listened and did what he told them to. So odd.

  
“I don’t know.” Marianne finally stated.

  
“What’s there to know? He loves you. You love him. I can see it in your eyes and the way you look at him.” Zelda continued, her wrinkled face fixed in a grin. “Sometimes you have to take a chance, Dear because he’s not going to. You are the one who decides and leads in this. He’s afraid of you.”

  
Marianne stared at Zelda. Bog placed his plate, piled high with food, next to Marianne’s, and sat down.

  
“Mother.” Bog leveled a stern gaze at her as she sat back and away from Marianne. “What are ye talking about?” He gave her a suspicious look and glanced at Marianne’s red face.

  
“Nothing.” Marianne smiled and took another bite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I groaned weeks after this, realizing I created a silly 'Hallmark moment'. :D  
Manic Bog is fun to write.  
So is 'I hate my birthday!' Bog.  
The weird thing is, when I began writing this chapter, it did not OCCUR to me that he was showing symptoms of a panic attack until he got into the car and realized what was going on.  
Impatient mom moving things along at a pace she prefers. :D  
What happened to Bog's father will be addressed VERY fast in November, however, I'm not going to do the updates as frequently this time. It's difficult to maintain without burning me out eventually. More than half of November has been written. :D


	12. October 25th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adults doing adult things. Working and worrying about finances. Well, Bog is worrying about Marianne and then all of that is forgotten due to open windows.

Marianne spent the next couple of days avoiding Bog. He called, and she told him that she had work to get done. She did, but everything seemed to be going so fast, and she needed to pull back. She also needed to finish a few projects so she could get paid and buy groceries. Her refrigerator was getting low on bread and cheese. She had spent the last bit in her account on taking Bog out.

  
It had been worth it. Marianne smiled, looking at the painting that he had given her. It was hanging over the window in her studio that faced Bog’s house. She loved that painting and everything he had put into it. She loved Bog. Flaws and all, she loved that man. Marianne smiled, saving her current project and preparing to open another one. She would finalize it in the morning and then get paid.

  
Marianne knew she could ask Sunny and Dawn for help, but they had an agreement. They would live with Marianne rent-free until they had enough in savings to buy a house. They had to listen to Marianne and learn how to manage their money and stay on a budget. She would cover their food too as long as they cooked for her. Marianne was good at sticking to a budget. The only reason she was having any financial problems was because of Roland. She was trying to pay as much as possible month to month to get rid of the debt.

  
Roland’s appearance had hurt her ability to work. She was having problems concentrating because she had to remain vigilant. She kept the silver necklace in one pocket and the taser in the other at all times. She slept with the chain wrapped around her wrist at night and the taser under her pillow. She had also moved the sword Bog had gifted her beneath her bed where she could get to it if she needed it. There were jingle bells scattered all over the underside of her bed. There were more around the base of the bed. If anyone tried to get to it first, they would be heard. She put bells on her doors and scattered them around the room and on the floor in random places. She was prepared, and she wasn’t getting a lot of sleep.

  
Tomorrow she was going to invite Bog over to spend the afternoon napping. She had a feeling he would be agreeable to it out in one of the hammocks in the backyard. She wanted to be near him. But the conversation with his mother had made her feel uncomfortable. She needed time to think about what she wanted.

  
Marianne still didn’t know.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog sat at his desk, hard at work. His focus had drifted over the last few weeks, and he had slacked off. He wasn’t behind in any projects. He had a lot of wiggle room, but he was behind on the schedule he had set for himself. He could afford to lighten his workload, and he had begun doing that. Marianne was now in his plans, at least for the next week, and lack of sleep was taking its toll.

  
Love. Bog looked out his window at Marianne’s studio. The blinds were drawn like they always were. Love messed up everything it touched. He had spent decades with this belief. It led to chaos all around him, and now he was in the middle of that chaos. And it was beginning to hurt him.

  
Fickle humans. Bog sighed, returning to his work. Love. It was dangerous. It was going to get him killed. Marianne had no idea what she was doing to him. She was torturing him with her indecision. Her past could literally kill him. And what was he doing? He was pining for her right now.

  
Marianne was avoiding him, and he knew it. Had he been that bad? Bog was missing those sweet kisses. They were the only ones he had ever had in his entire life, and he treasured each one. He longed to be near her, talking in person instead of the phone, but he was respectful. If she wanted distance, she could have it. She did not belong to him as much as he felt he belonged to her. That was her choice to make.

  
Bog knew his mother had said something to her that had scared her away. That woman didn’t have any sense. She had to say what was on her mind, no matter how uncomfortable it made others. Bog might take after her in that area when something absolutely needed to be said. But he had enough sense to not say things that would harm the fragile relationship he had with Marianne.

  
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Bog stared at the screen as the thoughts invaded. His only hope in life had been to someday find his match. Someone who would immediately love him because they were meant to be. That’s how Lycean relationships were supposed to go.

  
There were times when Bog had wondered if he was so unattractive that even that force couldn’t direct a woman to him. There were many Lyceans and Atlanteans around him that should have been compatible. There had to be a reason he was alone.

  
He had crushes in the past when he was much younger. Lyceans could choose to have or not have a relationship outside of the norm. They could have relationships like any other human. They would be just as faithful to their choice. That was how they were. Lyceans loved by nature. But even choosing someone had been denied. His status didn’t matter. No one looked his way or responded to him. He was their king, and that was it.

  
Bog could have ordered whatever woman he wanted to be with him, but it would not have been real. There was a time when he had considered doing that. He wanted what everyone else around him had. He had found a girl he desperately wanted to be his. She was an Atlantean. She had the loveliest tan skin, brown eyes, and brilliant red hair. But she had rejected him in such a way that it had left permanent emotional scars. Those old wounds were being pried open by Marianne.

  
What Bog had with Marianne was completely different from anything he had felt before. He was afraid of rejection at any time. It would hurt much more if she turned him away.

  
Marianne was all-consuming and challenging. So challenging. He knew she cared about him but wasn’t sure how much or how far it would go. Maybe he had already ruined it all by having panic attacks around her and being his stupid self. That was who he was. His birthday always made him off-kilter.

  
She had asked him if he was courting her, and his answer should have been more than enough to get an answer from her. Marianne was still indecisive. If it had been a normal relationship, Bog would have done what everyone in the world did to show love and affection. He would have showered her with gifts and attention. Something told him that would not be a good idea. That jerk Roland had been there. He had destroyed and manipulated Marianne. Roland had corrupted the very things that were meant to build trust. And he had hurt her.

  
Bog’s lips turned up in a snarl, and he kicked at the underside of his table. Roland had hurt Marianne. He had beaten the woman that Bog cared most about, and he was going to try to hurt her again. Roland’s goal was to take her in every way conceivable, and it brought a searing heat through Bog. He stared at his desk and let it pass over and envelop him. Pure self-righteous anger told him he had every right to protect Marianne in any way possible.

  
The emotion was suddenly replaced by a cold feeling. Removing Roland from their lives would change everything. But then strong, independent Marianne might decide she didn’t need Bog at all. She would be free of Roland and free to live her life without fear, possibly back where she had come from. Marianne would be happier with someone else. She might be using him right now for his protection.

  
Bog sighed and leaned back into his chair with his thoughts. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Why couldn’t he be allowed to love someone and be loved back like it was SUPPOSED TO BE? Why was this so complicated? Why- Bog caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. He immediately sat up in his chair.

  
Marianne had finally opened the blinds in her studio. She saw Bog and began lifting them, opening her windows up like his were. She smiled and waved, and all the negative thoughts in Bog’s head vanished as music filled his mind. “I’m a Believer” burst through his head. Bog smiled back and waved, scooting his chair closer to the cabinets that lined the wall. What did this woman do to him? One look and she had full control of him.

  
Bog watched curiously as Marianne lifted all the blinds. His mind was blank of anything that didn’t involve Marianne. She obviously wasn’t mad at him or anything. Maybe she did have a lot of work to get done and wasn’t making excuses. Bog got up and spun his chair out of the way. He began a very foolish display of dancing, pretending he was dancing with her to the music singing in his soul.

-=-=-=-=-

On a whim, Marianne went to the window beneath Bog's painting and peeked through the blinds. She had wanted to discretely see if she could get a glimpse of him in his studio. She tended to ignore the windows in her studio, but something drew her to look. She had been startled to see him in full view with every window in his studio open.

  
He was close enough that Marianne could see the anger and worry on his face. Their houses were not that far apart. Their mirror image layouts brought their studios close together. He looked so sad to Marianne, and she had an idea why. They had begun a relationship and had crossed over from being neighbors to being friends. From there, it was becoming something else. They held hands. They touched, and they kissed, and once that connection had been made, it only had two directions.

  
Marianne immediately felt guilty. The look on his face was her fault. She had withdrawn out of doubt even though she knew she loved him. It was scary. But then she saw his face. She lifted the blind, and Bog jumped the moment she did. She began raising all the blinds to do the same thing he had done. Marianne smiled and waved at him, hoping it would be a sign that everything was okay between them.

  
Then Bog got up and began dancing. It was the most ridiculous thing Marianne had ever seen, but it was also sweet. She watched him for a few minutes with a smile on her face. The words from “I’m a Believer” began inexplicably playing in her mind in time with his movements. Then she realized that he was actually singing the song! That’s why it was in her head

  
Marianne kicked off her slippers and climbed on top of her window cabinets to join him. It was so stupidly fun to do. She wanted him to see that she knew what he was doing. She completely forgot she was only in a nightshirt, something which did not go unnoticed by Bog.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog almost crashed into his computer desk at the distraction. Marianne was dancing on top of her cabinets in only a nightshirt. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. The nightshirt went down mid-thigh and was covered in what appeared to be Star Wars droids. She was singing along with him! Bog lost all sense of coordination. His face turned bright red, and he tried to keep doing what he was doing, but wow. He had not expected this at all!

  
And then the mental image that plagued many men his age flashed through his head. Marianne dressed up as Slave Leia. He shook his head, banishing that image away as fast as it appeared. No! NO! The slave part he was completely uninterested in, but the rest of it kept bouncing through his mind. He tried to focus on singing and dancing, but Marianne was doing a far better job of it.

  
Bog was relieved when Marianne finally stopped singing and dancing. She sat down on top of the cabinets to catch her breath. He wasn’t sure how long he could restrain himself from leaving his house and running over to hers. The temptation was strong, but it was late.

  
She leaned against the glass and smiled at him. Bog sat in his chair and smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This doesn't even BEGIN to establish the level of geek Bog has achieved. I haven't shown you his garage yet. :D Not the one attached to his house. The one he stores his 'Baby' in. :D 
> 
> Also, this chapter is so embarassing for me.


	13. October 26th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nobody's getting a lot of sleep at night and Marianne decides the best way to remedy that is to snuggle up to Bog.

**October 26th**

“I’m not going to fit.” Bog ran a hand across his chin, studying the hammock in Marianne’s backyard.

  
“You’re sure?” Marianne looked from the hammock to Bog, then back to the hammock.

  
“See.” Bog turned and sat in the hammock. He waited a moment to make sure it was steady before swinging his legs up into it. Bog had to bend his legs, and that wasn’t going to be comfortable for long. He preferred stretching out. Marianne climbed into the hammock next to him and yelped as she lost her balance and fell on him. She laid there for a moment against his chest, which took up way too much room. The hammock wasn’t wide enough. It was a cheap rope one meant for one person. Sunny and Dawn got away with it because they were small.

  
“If ye want, you can curl up on my chest like a cat.” Bog smirked, lifting his hand to Marianne’s shoulder to pull her closer.

  
“I know it’s cool right now, but that would get too hot after a while.” Marianne put her elbows on Bog’s chest and rested her head in her hands. She purposely dug her elbows into him.

  
“Ow ow ow.” Bog grinned, getting the point. “I have a me sized hammock in my backyard, but if my mom sees us, she is not going to leave us alone.”

  
“We could sneak in the side gate?” Marianne suggested thoughtfully.

  
“Like a couple of randy teenagers?” Bog smirked.

  
“I am too tired for randy.” Marianne groaned, sliding her arms out and falling on Bog’s chest. “I just want a nap.” Bog hugged her for a moment while she was there, then sighed and sat up.

  
“Let’s get with the sneaking. Sooner we get some sleep the better.” Bog grumbled.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog and Marianne went around to the side of his house and snuck into his back yard. Bog’s mother was supposed to be doing some baking, so he assumed she wouldn’t be looking into the backyard. Marianne had seen his back yard from her studio before. It was how she knew he had a garden. The garden was on her fence line, running the entire length of it in upraised beds.

  
She couldn’t help but feel hungry at the sight of the full garden beds. There were several types of squash, tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, and carrots. Bog didn’t do anything halfway.

  
He led her past the garden and to the back area of his yard that had several trellises set up. She had never seen what was behind them. They were obscured by climbing roses and other vines.

Hidden behind the trellises was a wide hammock on a steel frame. Bog had put poles across the top of the trellises to the top of the fence for the vines to climb over and form a natural canopy.   
The fence behind the hammock and the trellises buffered the area inside from outside sound. The surrounding fence was painted in shades of golden orange. Colorful dragonflies and butterflies decorated the fence against the bright background. A few small wind chimes hung from the canopy on the inside and outside of the trellises.

  
“Welcome to my secret place.” Bog grinned, motioning to the hammock. “Perfect for daytime naps away from nagging moms.”

  
“Looks great.” Marianne yawned.

  
“No funny stuff.” Bog smirked as the pair climbed onto the hammock. It was more stable than Marianne’s hammock, and Bog was able to stretch out on his back. He folded his arms under his head. Marianne laid down next to him on her back and did the same. She folded her arms under her head and sighed contentedly.

  
“Marianne, whatever my mother said, don’t believe her. Don’t listen to her. She likes to talk.” Bog began slowly. “I know she said something to ye.”

  
Marianne stared at the canopy, thinking about what she should say.

  
Her silence worried Bog. “Marianne? What did she say?” He ventured carefully, keeping his eyes up and away from her.

  
“She said you love me,” Marianne whispered.

  
“Meddlin’ wee witchy woman.” Bog groaned.

  
“Is it true?” Marianne turned her head to look at Bog curiously.

  
Bog sat up and looked at Marianne sadly. “My mother likes to say things. She doesn’t think before she talks. She’s-”

  
“Is it true?” Marianne sat up and looked at Bog. He dropped his gaze and scowled.

  
“This isn’t fair. Why did she have to tell you that?” He fumed.

  
“Is it true?” Marianne was beginning to get impatient for an answer.

  
Bog lifted his head to look Marianne in the eyes. His uncertain expression was amplified by the frightened look in his blue eyes. He looked terrified.

“Marianne. I, I.” He stammered, unable to pull himself together. He lifted a hand to caress Marianne’s face. Her beautiful brown eyes with their fiery glint were toned down with a shadow of apprehension. It might be the last time he ever got to touch her or see her this close.

  
“I love you!” Marianne blurted out, unable to take it any longer. Bog looked shocked and froze.

  
“Marianne, I love ye too.” Bog sighed with a crooked smile, letting the words flow. He relaxed and leaned toward Marianne, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her. She met him, then broke off after a few minutes to snuggle into his arms. “I love ye.”

  
“I love you.” Marianne repeated with a smile. Then she yawned. “That was exhausting. Naptime?”

  
“Yeah.” Bog grinned, laying back on the hammock and bringing Marianne with him. “We can talk later.” He kept an arm around her as she stretched out next to him and made herself comfortable. Bog felt relieved to get it out, but at the same time, he still worried.

  
Marianne might change her mind. Bog could never take those words back. Once they were spoken, they were permanent. He had put his heart into her hands.

They slept through lunch and well into the afternoon. Bog ended up rolling onto his side so he could wrap his arms around her. Marianne curled up with her head buried in his chest. She had folded her arms under her neck and tucked her knees up against his stomach. It was the best sleep she had since falling asleep on him weeks earlier.

  
Nobody came looking for them, and Marianne could have slept until evening if allowed to. Her stomach had other ideas and began growling.  
“Ye hungry?” Bog stirred and squeezed her gently.

  
Marianne took a deep breath enjoying where she was lying for a moment longer. Her stomach growled again and pinched tightly. “Yeah.” She sighed.

  
“Let’s see what we have. Mom’s been baking, so there should be fresh bread, pies, and some things she’s canning.” Bog reluctantly shifted, pushing himself up. He stretched, and Marianne watched.

  
“I love you.” She whispered with a lazy smile.

  
“Marianne, I have always loved you.” Bog returned, leaning over to give her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Let me make you something to eat.”

  
They got up and made their way to the back door hand in hand. Bog caught Marianne looking at his garden as they were walking by it, and her stomach growled again. “If ye want ye can send Dawn and Sunny over anytime to pick stuff. There’s too much in there for just me and my mom. We have plenty.”

  
“I’ll take you up on that.” Marianne grinned, thinking about her almost empty fridge and pantries. There was no way she was going to let Bog find out about that. She knew he was the type of man who would immediately drive her to the nearest grocery store to fill them. She could see him filling several carts full of random food for her. Marianne didn’t want that. She needed a few more days for her next deposit. She would be fine, and he didn’t need to ‘rescue’ her.

-=-=-=-=-

“Thanks for ruining everything, Mother.” Bog glowered at her as they entered the kitchen.

  
“What, Dear?” Zelda turned and smiled at them. It was one of those smiles that spread from ear to ear and was anything but innocent. “I’ve been in here all day.”

  
“Ye know what ye did.” Bog growled, leading Marianne to the table. He pulled out a chair for her, waited for her to sit, then pushed it closer. “What do we have for lunch?”

  
“Chicken salad in the fridge, and I even sliced the bread for you two.” His mother motioned to a plate that had four thick slices of homemade bread stacked on it. “I figured you’d be hungry. Your hair is all mussed up, Dear.”

  
“Mother!” Bog snapped.

  
Marianne groaned and put her head in her hands as she realized what she was insinuating.

  
“That is very rude. Stop doing that.” Bog grumbled as he opened the fridge to retrieve the chicken salad. “Would ye like a drink, Marianne?” He asked in a far kinder voice. “Looks like we have tea, juice, and milk.”

  
“Tea is fine,” Marianne whispered, staring at the table, trying to hide the deep red blush on her cheeks.

  
“Why are you so embarrassed?” Bog’s mother checked the oven. “It’s only natural. I mean, you’re 42, Bog, you never have-”

  
“Mother!” Bog slammed a fist onto the counter, making Marianne jump. “Stop talking!” His mother smiled at him. She could not stop smiling, and it was infuriating. “What Marianne and I do is none of yer business. I will not have ye speaking freely about it like this. We were taking a nap on the hammock. That is all. Nothing else. There are not any grandchildren coming. Absolutely no chance of that, so please stop doing that.” He laid into her, and she smiled at him.

  
“Just do what comes natural, Dears.” She giggled and went back to moving pies around on the counter to make room for the ones in the oven. “No judgment here, but seriously, you don’t have forever.”

  
Bog sighed and gave up. There was no getting through to his mother. Bog made the sandwiches and brought the plates over to the table. “I apologize for her. Ye know how OLD people get.” Bog mumbled before leaving to grab their glasses and returning.

  
“How do we get, Bog?” His mother placed two plates with slices of apple pie and ice cream on the table between them. She still had that annoying smile plastered on her face. “I’m so happy right now. I can’t wait until you two get married and move in here and get started!”

  
Marianne groaned again. This woman truly did not have a filter.

  
“I’ll fix ye a nice little grandma suite in the backyard and kick ye out there.” Bog grumbled, giving Marianne a quick ‘I’m sorry.’ Look.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY. Someone said it. :D
> 
> Next update is on the 29th and then the 30th and 31st so we can end this torturous grind on my part. :D
> 
> I've never had the opportunity to write the inappropriate elder and I enjoy it. I have written a very nice little short about Zelda and Bog's father meeting for the first time to go up in November. It's full of nudity and inappropriateness on Zelda's part. :D (Nongraphic, but it will be marked mature for sensual language. My husband liked it and even contributed to it.)


	14. October 29th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bog and Marianne are trying their hardest to explore their relationship while dealing with the everlooming specter of Roland showing up at any time. Dawn is NOT happy to hear that Marianne has told Bog she loves him and has oh so many reasons why. One of them doesn't involve the situation at ALL.

**October 29th**

The next several days went by fast. Bog and Marianne spent as much time as they could with each other. They were comforted by each other’s presence. Being around Bog allowed Marianne to relax. She began taking her laptop over to Bog’s studio so she could work while he was working. Bog would do the same when she needed to work in her studio. Bog had a comfortable couch in his studio, and Marianne would take naps on it during the day. It helped make up for her lack of sleep at night.

  
They also napped in the hammock daily. That was the best part of the day for both of them. There were no demands between them or expectations. They enjoyed cool afternoons and leaves fluttering down around them from the trees. During the day, they were like any other couple learning about each other.

  
The night was an entirely different experience. They stayed up past midnight, usually keeping each other company. Bog did not sleep at all during the night. Sleeping during the day allowed him to watch Marianne’s house at all times during the night and be vigilant. Bog did not need as much sleep as Marianne did. He often joined the patrols he had ordered increased in the neighborhood. Wolves and coyotes prowled, and great owls kept a watch over the entire community. Marianne had no idea this level of security was out there. Everyone was ordered to stay out of sight.

  
Bog couldn’t leave Marianne alone and had to rely on word of mouth as the securest form of communication. That was the usual way Lycean things of importance were communicated. Occasionally those messages were distorted. Word of mouth was only so reliable.

  
The most important message he sent out was that Marianne was his intended. She was a human, and she did not know his secret and maybe never would. Marianne was to be treated with respect and equal to him. Anything she said was to be listened to. Protect Marianne above all. He had the entire town to help him keep Marianne safe, and he was still anxious about the upcoming days.

  
Both Marianne and Bog had come to the conclusion that Roland was waiting for Halloween. It would offer him the best cover. They still had to remain vigilant. He could try again before Halloween expecting them to figure out his plan. That man was far slippier and smarter than he had any right being.

-=-=-=-=-

“You, you,” Dawn stammered as she stared at her sister incredulously. “You, you, you.”

  
“I love him.” Marianne smiled at Dawn. They were in the middle of a delicious breakfast consisting of things from Bog’s garden and cheese. Dawn was staring at her and looked like her brain had broken at the news. “I told Bog I love him, and he told me he loves me.”

  
“You’ve only been talking to him for a MONTH!” Dawn’s blue eyes were wide in astonishment. “ONE MONTH!! You took a YEAR to tell R-word you loved him!”

  
“That should have been a sign,” Marianne grumbled.

  
“But, you’re the responsible one!” Dawn could not believe what she had been told. “You told me to wait to marry Sunny!” She glanced around the room, making sure the walls were still straight, and the world hadn’t tipped over sideways. “You hate Love! You told me you would never love another guy again and… one MONTH!” Dawn could not get over it. “We both knew Sunny for fifteen years. I dated him for two, and you told me to wait another year after he proposed.” Dawn looked down at the table and started worrying her napkin. “I listened to you.”

  
“I didn’t say I was marrying him.” Marianne frowned at Dawn’s hysterics. “I said, I love him.”

  
“You’ve had two dates! Are you crazy?!” Dawn jumped up and grabbed her sister’s head like she was examining it for signs of tampering.

  
“Stop that.” Marianne batted her hands away. “Dawn, you know how you two are. You wanted to get married at 20. I told you to at least wait until you were 21 and finished your college courses so you would have stable jobs. Which reminds me. Do you have a job yet?”

  
“I’m looking.” Dawn plopped back into her chair and stared at her plate. “This isn’t like you. What did he do to you?” She paused a moment pushing things around her plate with her fork. “Marianne.” Then she began crying.

  
Marianne stared at her sister. “Dawn, knock it off. “There are couples out there who know each other for years, get married, then get divorced in months. Some couples meet and get married in months and are married for a lifetime. There are no rules for when to get married. I love him. It’s nothing like it was with R-word. It’s like what you have with Sunny. It really is.”

  
“I like Bog.” Dawn sniffled, “But he’s a human. Why would you do that to yourself? What happens when he grows old and … and …” Dawn went completely silent.

  
Marianne frowned. “We don’t have any guarantees of a long life any more than they do. What if he’s the only man who will ever love me the way that I want to be loved? He’s the only man I’ve ever met who wants me to be me. He doesn’t want to change me.”

  
“You are not passing the Bechdel test right now, Marianne,” Dawn mumbled.

  
“Considering I have zero friends?” Marianne raised an eyebrow at Dawn. “Are you saying that I don’t have any perspective? That because he’s my only friend in the entire world that, of course, I would feel this way about him?” She picked up her plate and got up. “You’re my sister. I thought you would be more supportive.”

  
Dawn whimpered and watched her sister leave the kitchen and head up to her studio. Then she sighed and put her own plate up. She was going right over to the Laird’s house, and she was going to have a conversation with Bog about Marianne.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog stared at Dawn. He had no clue how to handle her. She had come to his house, and he had opened the door. Now they were sitting in the living room while she wailed and couldn’t get any words out. He was supposed to be heading over to Marianne’s studio to get some work done, but Dawn had met him as he was leaving.

  
With a sigh, Bog got up, retrieved a box of tissues from the top of a bookshelf, and sat next to Dawn, offering it to her. She accepted it and glanced up at him. Her face was blotchy, and her eyes were red. “You can’t do that to Marianne.” She managed to sob out.

  
“What? Do what to Marianne?” Bog looked completely confused as he patted Dawn’s shoulder. “Uh, did I do something?”

  
“You can not tell her you love her!” Dawn wailed.

  
“What? Why not??” Bog was baffled. He shifted away from Dawn. She was mad at him? What had he done? He turned away, rubbing his hands together anxiously. A heated shame spread through him. What had he done? Dawn had always been so sweet and kind to him. Now he felt awful. “Dawn. I love yer sister. I really do.”

  
“You are not the right man for her.” Dawn frowned, wiping her eyes. “You need to let her go.”

  
“Why?” Bog stared at Dawn, looking her in the eyes.

  
Dawn sobbed and looked at Bog. His usually bright blue eyes were dulled with sadness and confusion. She didn’t want to do this to him. He was a nice guy, and Dawn liked him, but he was going to break Marianne’s heart. It was unavoidable. If she could get him to break up with her now, then it wouldn’t hurt Marianne as much.

  
“Why?” Bog repeated.

  
Dawn hadn’t thought this far ahead. “Uhm, because you’re going to break her heart? You can’t do that!”

  
Bog was completely confused now. He scooted next to Dawn again and tentatively wrapped an arm over her shoulders. He mumbled something under his breath, and his eyes widened at the information he got back. He was checking to see if there was something wrong with her. Was she sick? This didn’t seem normal for her. “Dawn, please stop. I have no idea what I did to make ye upset with me.” Managing a hysterical, crying woman was a completely new thing for Bog. “Dawn, I love yer sister. I want her in my life at her pace. I want to marry her and spend my life with her. I will never break her heart. I swear that’s not even possible.” Dawn continued sobbing. Bog grumbled, patting her on the shoulder. He wasn’t sure how to fix this and get Dawn out of his house.

  
“Dawn. Ye have not given me any real reason for why yer upset other than ye care about yer sister and don’t want me to hurt her.” Bog sighed. “Am I not good enough for her? Is it something else? I know how I look. I know how people look at me. Is that how ye see me? I know she can do better.” Bog squeezed Dawn’s shoulder lightly. He muttered the same thing he had before to confirm what he had sensed the first time. There was a reason she was flipping out on him, and it wasn’t what she was saying.

  
“No. I don’t think that at all.” Dawn smiled up at Bog through the tears. “You’re a good guy. I know that. Just not for my sister. I don’t want you to hurt her.”

  
“I would never hurt her, Dawn.” Bog smiled and leaned over to hug Dawn and check a third time. Dawn more than happily accepted the hug, hugging him back and then stopping her tears. “I love yer sister. Yer pretty awesome yerself. Coming over here to make sure I treat her right. Everything is going to be okay. Yer a great sister.” He laughed. “Someday ye’ll be a great mom too, I bet. Won’t that be amazing? Then ye can make yer sister and me babysit. It’ll be great.”

  
Dawn sniffled and smiled. She felt better. She still felt upset, but it had passed. “I am so sorry, Boggy. I must sound like a crazy person!”

  
“No.” He took her hand and patted it gently. “Why don’t ye go into the kitchen and see what my mom has on the table. She’s been baking for days. Go eat something.”

“Thank you, Boggy!” Dawn bounced up and wiped her eyes. “I’m starving!”

  
“Mom, give Dawn whatever she wants!” Bog smiled and called out to his mother.

  
“Sure thing! Come in here, Dear, I have pumpkin pie right out of the oven!” His mother called back.

  
“I’m sorry.” Dawn frowned for a moment. “I didn’t mean what I said. I think you’re wonderful. I’m just. I don’t know how I feel about it.”

  
“Go on.” Bog was still smiling as he waved her off to the kitchen. She turned and bounced out of the room.

  
Bog sighed and rubbed his eyes. That was interesting. Dawn was flipping out at him because she was a couple of weeks pregnant and most likely had no idea she was. This was not a secret he wanted to carry, but it would make it easier to handle her in the future. He would be sure to bring something his mom baked every time he went over. Something told him the best way to deal with a pregnant woman was to always have something tasty in hand.

-=-=-=-=-

“Dawn is driving me crazy!” Marianne walked around her studio, waving her hands in the air. She stopped behind Bog’s chair and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Marianne leaned forward and rubbed her cheek against Bog’s with a happy sigh. He grinned nervously. Then she lifted a hand and ran it over his chin. He had not shaved since Marianne had told him not to, and he felt weird about it. He preferred a cleaner look. At the moment, he had a good, even, thick layer of hair that had only recently stopped itching. Bog was also getting used to the feel of hair beneath his nose.

  
Bog consoled himself that in a few days, he could shave and hoped that Marianne wouldn’t want him to keep it. He was very self-conscious about keeping it clean and groomed. Bog had an appointment on Thursday morning with Stuff to get it styled. He planned to wear his costume all day for Marianne.

  
“Any idea what’s wrong with her?” Bog tilted his head to look up at Marianne. She didn’t answer, choosing to kiss him instead. Then her hands were running over his neck and over his shoulders. “That feels nice, but don’t do that.” Bog grinned, gently pushing her back.

  
“I want to.” Marianne squeezed her arms around him.

  
“This is new.” Bog mumbled, looking down at his laptop. He kept seeing Dawn’s teary-eyed face and hearing her words begging him to forget about Marianne. “Let’s be careful. There’s no hurry, is there? I love ye. My mom is crazy. Don’t let her get to ye.” Knowing that Dawn was pregnant was a complete and total mood killer.

  
“I just want to touch you.” Marianne kissed his cheek. She ran her fingers through his beard again, which felt incredibly good. Then she kissed the back of his neck, and Bog shivered uncontrollably. “Well, that’s interesting.” She ran her fingers down the middle of his neck, and he did it again.

  
“Stop that!” Bog rolled his chair away from her with an amused grin. “Don’t ye have work to do?”

  
“Work is boring! You’re far more interesting!”

  
“And I want to stay interesting.” Bog closed his laptop and got up. He was smiling, but Marianne’s playfulness was overwhelming him. “Take it slow, Marianne.”

  
Marianne sat in her chair with a sigh. “Sit down, Bog. I’m just anxious. Please, don’t leave.”

  
Bog nodded and scooted his chair next to Marianne’s. “I’m here for ye. I’ll never leave ye.”

  
“Dawn threw a fit this morning when I told her about us,” Marianne whispered.

  
“Yeah, she showed up on my doorstep and told me I wasn’t the right man for ye.” Bog sighed.

  
“She WHAT?!” Marianne bolted upright and out of her chair. “I can not believe her!” She started for the door.

  
“Whoa! Marianne!!” Bog leaped to his feet and grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her to hold her in place. “Dawn seems a little stressed. Don’t yell at her. She spent fifteen minutes crying in my living room.”

  
“Argh!” Marianne tried to struggle out of Bog’s grip. “You better let me go, or I’m going to use my taser on you!” Bog released her immediately and stood in the doorway.

  
“Be reasonable, Marianne. She was worried about ye.”

  
“She has no business going up to you and telling you that you should leave me!” Marianne shouted. Her face was red with anger, and Bog remained standing in the doorway. “Get out of my way, Bogdan Cadeyrn Laird!”

  
Bog’s face cracked into a smirk, then he began laughing. “My mother told ye to say that if I ‘misbehave,’ didn’t she?!” Marianne was not amused. Bog was desperately searching for a way to defuse her. “Marianne. Please. I’m fine. I’m not leaving ye.”

  
“She has no business interfering in my relationships.” Marianne’s angry face contorted and then the tears began. “She’s my sister! She’s supposed to support my decisions!” She grabbed Bog around the waist and cried against his chest. “She has Sunny! Why can’t I have you?!”

  
Bog tentatively began rubbing Marianne’s back, letting her cry against him. These crying women were going to be the death of him. What was with all the tears today? “I told ye, I’m not going anywhere. I love ye.” He whispered. “What can I do to make ye feel better?”

  
“Marry Me. I’m making sucky decisions right now, so I might as well decide on that one.” Marianne tilted her head up and rested her chin on Bog’s chest to look at him. She seemed completely serious.

  
“Marianne.” Bog shook his head. “Several days ago, ye couldn’t even tell me what ye wanted out of us. There is no need to rush. Let’s slow down. I don’t want ye to do something ye might not want in a few days.”

  
Marianne pushed him back. “Bog! I am not some fickle child!” She began moving around the room in a furious pace glancing up at Bog occasionally. “You have been driving me absolutely crazy since the day I moved in! You would not get out of my head! Not even when you were singing that stupid song on my porch! I have not gone a day without thinking about you and looking for you! I didn’t even know that much about you, and I had to keep looking for you! I had to see you every day! Even if I didn’t see you, I would dream about you. Every. Single. Night. I didn’t want to, but I DID!”

  
Bog stared at Marianne, not able to comprehend what she was saying as she continued. “When you told me you had always loved me, that’s when I knew what I wanted! It’s not normal! I have never met anyone who entered my life and insisted on staying there without even talking to me.” Marianne stopped in front of Bog and looked up at him. Her brown eyes had taken on their normal fiery, passionate light. “I know what I want. I want you.”

  
“Uhm.” Bog swallowed hard, his eyes wide in astonishment. She was downright intimidating when she was like this. “I love ye, but we should wait to make any big decisions like that. We still have to deal with the R-word.” Marianne sighed and ran to him. She threw her arms around his waist and pressed herself tightly to him.

  
She ran her fingers up and down his back feeling him and listening to his heart beating. It was fast and nervous. She knew what she had done. She was scary Marianne again. “I love ye,” Bog repeated, the words rumbling through his chest. “I do, but I want to wait a little longer. Ye can’t ask me to marry ye and follow it up with yer making sucky decisions. I do not want to be a sucky decision. That and yer being a little crazy right now.”

  
“I am not.” Marianne pouted, and he could hear it in her voice as her grip on him tightened like she never wanted to let him go.

  
“Yer also kinda ruining this for me.” Bog sighed, running his fingers through her hair. “I told ye I’m annoyingly traditional. I want to propose to ye, and I want to do it right. I only intend to propose to a woman one time.”

  
“So, you’re saying yes?” Marianne tilted her head up and grinned at Bog.

  
“Ye are so annoying.” Bog grinned back, his face taking on a shade of pink. He realized he had spoken his full intentions to her for the first time.

-=-=-=-=-

“Marianne. Why is yer refrigerator empty?” Bog had brought over an apple pie for Dawn and was putting it away for later. He stared inside the gaping chasm that was the Summers’ refrigerator. Marianne cringed. She was sitting at the table with her sister and Sunny eating cheese sandwiches for lunch. Bog put the pie inside, closed it, and opened her freezer. He turned and glared at Marianne. She looked away. “Why is yer freezer empty?”

  
“I should be getting a deposit tomorrow.” Marianne shrugged. He was going to do it. She knew he was.

  
Bog began opening her cabinets while occasionally giving her tight-lipped looks. He also kept looking at Dawn and Sunny. Bog grumbled, seeing only a few cans of vegetables and a box of spaghetti. He also noted the bread wrapper on top of the trash. Sunny was eating a sandwich that looked like it was made from the thin heels. “Yer cabinets are empty.” Bog stated dryly.

  
This would not do. Bog was the only one in the room who knew about Dawn. He knew they lived on a tight budget, but he thought they were doing okay. It made his stomach turn. If he had not offered food from his garden, what would they have been eating? There were several zucchinis on the cabinet, along with onions and tomatoes. Bog mumbled something to himself and then began cursing under his breath. He sat down at the table and stared at Marianne. How could he help without insulting her or embarrassing her? He decided that it could wait until morning. If he came over and Marianne was not going out to do grocery shopping, he was dragging all three of them out.

  
“What kind of pie did you bring?” Dawn grinned at Bog cheerfully.

  
“Apple caramel.” Bog smiled back.

  
“You are not allowed to talk to Bog.” Marianne snapped at Dawn. Dawn whimpered and went back to eating her sandwich.

  
“It’s okay.” Bog looked from Marianne to Dawn and back again. This was not okay.

  
“I heard what you did today, Dawn.” Marianne growled at her. Dawn’s lower lip quivered, and Bog could see her eyes filling with tears.

  
“Marianne.” Bog interfered, casting a warning look in Marianne’s direction. “There is no need for that. Let it go.”

  
Sunny looked from Marianne to Dawn and scooted a little closer to his wife. Marianne was terrifying when she got like this, and he had never seen it directed at Dawn before. It was worrying. “What did you do?” Bog heard Sunny whisper to Dawn. She didn’t answer as big tears began rolling down her rosy cheeks.

  
“No. I will not. You are not allowed to talk to Bog, Dawn.” Marianne waved a finger at Dawn. “Ever.”

  
“That’s unrealistic.” Bog rolled his eyes and gave Marianne a thin lipped scowl. Holding this secret was not going to be fun. If he were free to tell it or if Dawn knew, this wouldn’t be happening.

  
“Marianne. Stop it.” Sunny frowned and then glared at Marianne. “You’re making Dawn cry.” He wrapped an arm around his wife and began whispering to her.

  
Marianne’s face flushed as she stared at her sister. They were sisters. Dawn was always the easier of the two to bring on the tears, and Marianne didn’t fall for them. Right now, she couldn’t get rid of the hostile feeling she had toward Dawn. She was so angry with her.

  
“I should go.” Bog got up.

  
“You just got here.” Marianne frowned at him.

  
“I’ve been here all morning, Marianne.”

  
“Yes, but you were at your house for the last hour.”

  
“Had to get some other things done. I was still here for most of the morning.” Bog sighed. “I am causing a problem, and I am going.” He looked at Marianne and then walked behind Dawn to pat her on the shoulder. “Yer fine, Dawn. I’m not mad at ye for anything.” Dawn looked relieved. At least one of them wasn’t angry with her. Bog mouthed Let it Go to Marianne. Then he left.

  
The moment the front door closed behind Bog, Marianne stood up with her hands on the table and leaned toward Dawn. “How dare you! You told him he wasn’t the right man for me?! I can not believe you did that.” Then Marianne began crying in anger, and Sunny was trapped between two crying women. “I love Bog. You are my sister! You are supposed to be happy for me!”

  
“But he’s a human, he’s going to-” Dawn was whimpering.

  
“Stop saying that!” Marianne hit the table. “I know! Don’t you think I know?!”

  
“Marianne.” Sunny jumped to his feet in defense of his wife. “Stop talking like that to Dawn.” Marianne glared at Sunny, usually a look that would make him back down instantly. He didn’t. “That’s rude and uncalled for. She is happy for you. I’m happy for you. She’s worried about what happens when Bog DIES. He will die before you do. He’ll die before we all do. We all know it. Look at yourself. You’re a mess when he’s not around as it is. That is all Dawn is trying to do. Save you from being an even worse disaster after you have him for 30 or 40 years, and then he dies. We know how you are. When you give your heart, you give it all. It’s not a bad thing, Marianne.”

  
Marianne’s mouth dropped open as Sunny spoke. “Then why is it worth it to be in love at all?” She whispered, turning away from the conversation. “We have no guarantees at how long we live.”

  
“That’s not what I’m saying.” Sunny frowned. “Of course, it’s worth it! What I’m saying is that when you are hurt, you really hurt. Like more than everyone else. Because you’re the kind of person, who gives and gives until you have nothing left. Then people like Roland take and take and never give anything back, leaving you with nothing. Just because you put up a wall doesn’t mean anything about you actually changed behind it. Bog is a nice guy. You want to give him your life, but he’s also a human who is giving you his life, however short it may be. You are going to outlive him. That’s a fact. It’s also a fact that you love him, and if you love him, then you can love someone else.”

  
“Only him.” Marianne sighed. “I can only love him. You two need to get over the fact he’s a human. I am going to end up marrying him.” Then she motioned to Sunny. “And you of all people should not be telling me I shouldn’t marry someone because he’s not Arcadian.” Sunny winced. “You remember how mad our father was when he found out, but he still blessed your union and allowed it to happen. I stood up for you. The least you can do is stand up for me.” Marianne looked from Sunny to Dawn. Her little sister was still distraught, and tears were streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, Dawn, but stay out of my relationship. I love Bog.”

-=-=-=-=-

Bog had a problem. The moment he left Marianne’s house, he could only think about Dawn and making sure she was taken care of. Her condition immediately brought up a need in him to make sure she had plenty of food. It was common for all Lyceans to make sure everyone was taken care of in the community. Nobody wanted for anything. At the same time, he did not want to insult Marianne.

  
“Mom!” Bog went looking for her. He used his most pleasant voice. “Do we have something we can cook tonight for our neighbors? Also, I have something to tell ye that yer going to like. Yer gonna have to make me a promise!”

-=-=-=-=-

The point of dinner was leftovers that Bog would make sure went over to the Summers’ house. Dawn had a healthy appetite before, and Bog assumed she would now. He wasn’t mistaken. Dawn devoured her honey ginger roast chicken and went back for seconds. There were also herb roasted potatoes and steamed garden vegetables to go with the chicken. Marianne and Sunny ate as well, but not as much as Dawn did.

  
“Eat, eat.” Bog’s mother focused on Dawn with a huge grin on her face. She brought around another bowl full of honey ginger carrots. All these things would be healthy for Dawn. Zelda had also made sweet potato pies for dessert.

  
Bog sat next to Marianne. He narrowed his eyes at the bowl of honey that his mother had sat in front of her. His mother was not going to quit. He had told her he had a little secret to tell her. The stipulation was that Zelda would stop talking to Marianne about their relationship. She would stop trying to push for things they weren’t ready for. She had promised, but there was that jar of honey, and she had smiled at Bog as she slid it in front of Marianne. His mother had often said that honey was a potent aphrodisiac and good for everything. There were little hearts all over the jar.

  
Marianne took the drizzler and put more honey all over her carrots. Bog swore under his breath and stuffed chicken into his mouth. “This is all so good.” She smiled at Bog, and he couldn’t help but smile back. Everything seemed to be better among them. Dawn was her usual smiling self. Marianne wasn’t glaring at her. Sunny was making jokes and being way too sweet to his wife. Bog watched them. Before Marianne, he had seen couples being all cute like that and rolled his eyes. Sometimes he had even made snide remarks. Now he realized he was very likely to do the same little affectionate things like asking if she needed more tea.

  
“Do ye need more tea?” Bog smiled, reaching for Marianne’s empty glass along with his own.

  
“Sure!” Marianne smiled.

-=-=-=-=-

Following dinner, everyone went out into the Laird’s backyard. Bog turned on some soft music rather than his standard rock playlist. Marianne watched as he brought hot apple cider to Sunny and Dawn. He was acting weird around Dawn.

  
Marianne assumed it was because of their fight earlier in the day. She felt so guilty for yelling at Dawn and being so angry. Dawn was worried about her. And now Bog was making up for it. He brought out a stack of light blankets. The weather was turning chilly, but where they were sitting on the back deck was cozy.

  
Bog’s mother joined them and pulled her rocking chair closer to the porch swings. Zelda ended up next to Dawn and Sunny. She struck up an animated conversation with them.

  
Marianne was baffled. Typically Bog’s mother hovered around her. She had only a passing interest in Sunny and Dawn. Now she was asking all kinds of questions about when they were married. What their plans were for the future? If they intended to have children. Marianne wished she could save them from the barrage of questions. But Sunny and Dawn were giggling and happily talking to Zelda about it.

  
It didn’t bother them. Marianne sighed and stared into the mug of cider that Bog had brought her. He sat down next to her and shook out the blanket in his hands. Then he spread it over their laps. They sat in silence, listening to the conversation going on nearby.

  
“I love ye, Marianne.” Bog leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

  
“I love you too, Bogdan.” Marianne smiled up at him and sipped her drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This little secret that Bog has to carry around is a big pain for him. :D Unfortunately, Marianne's affected by her sister's condition as well and that's common. I enjoyed letting Sunny actually come out and confront Marianne since I realize I didn't spend as much time on Sunny and Dawn in this story as the other, because it was SUPPOSED TO BE A SHORT 10K story!


	15. October 30th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn's condition necessitates action on Bog's part. He's good at being tricky, only it puts them in an awkward position when Roland shows up for ONE last try at getting Marianne to leave with him before his big move.

  
**October 30th**

It rained heavily that morning.

  
Bog shook his umbrella outside the door and propped it next to the doorframe. He stomped to get the water off his shoes then knocked. It was earlier than he usually came over.

  
Dawn met him at the door. “Good morning, Boggy.” She smiled pleasantly. “Marianne is still asleep.”

  
“That’s okay. Can I come in?”

  
“Sure.” Bog stepped inside, and thunder boomed above him. He smirked, feeling like he just had ominous entry music. “If ye and Sunny aren’t busy today, I’ve got a big project I need help with at my house. I’ll take ye out to breakfast.”

  
“What kind of project?” Dawn bounced around him. “And breakfast sounds great!” She paused and added in a whisper, “I am so sorry about yesterday, Boggy.”

  
“It’s okay, Dawn.” Bog smiled. Why don’t ye get Sunny and come over. Leave a note for Marianne that we’re at my house.”

=-=-=-=-=

Marianne grumbled as she walked into her kitchen an hour later. There was no sign of Sunny or Dawn, and they hadn’t told her they were going anywhere. She spotted a note on the table and picked it up. It simply said: At Bog’s. Join us! Then there was a little smiling flower doodled on it. Morning people.

=-=-=-=-=

Kids were running in and out of Bog’s little western town wearing raincoats. It wasn’t raining as heavily as it had been. Marianne made her way past them and blinked as she saw Bog’s porch. It was full of large, damp cardboard boxes. His front door was open. Sunny and Dawn were sitting amidst piles of large cloth bags with reflective stickers on the sides.

  
Marianne walked up the steps, unsure if she wanted to know what was going on. She stepped through the door to both Sunny and Dawn, calling out, “Good morning, Marianne!” simultaneously. Sunny had a scoop in one hand full of a variety of small candies. Dawn had a massive box of full-sized candy bars she was dropping into bags. Marianne looked from them to the other side of the room, where there were more stacked boxes. These were full of more bags.

  
“Good morning?” Marianne whispered. She began backing toward the door, thinking she would rather go back to bed.

  
“Good morning, Marianne!” Bog stepped into the room with a grin carrying two full glasses of chocolate milk. He gave one to Sunny and the other to Dawn. “Great, ye can help me get these things moved into the hallway so we can make room for the rest of them.”

  
“What are you doing?” She looked down at the floor where there were huge stacks of cloth bags wrapped up into bundles. “How many kids are you expecting.”

  
“Hmmm.” Bog looked thoughtful. He gave a sidelong glance to Dawn and chuckled. “We have a population of 5,000. Around 2,000 are under the age of 18, so I’d say around 2,000.” Bog walked past Marianne to move a bundle of bags closer to Sunny and Dawn.

  
“2,000?” Marianne stepped aside and stared at Bog. “You are expecting the entire town’s kids on this street on Halloween night?” She looked flabbergasted. “Why?”

  
“Tradition.” Bog grinned, taking Marianne’s hand. “Now, why don’t ye help me fill these bags. With all four of us, it won’t take that long. One scoop of candy. One candy bar. Put it in a box and then grab another bag.”

=-=-=-=-=

It took several hours to fill all the bags that were on the porch. They filled up the hallway and living room. Marianne was still trying to figure out why an entire town would go to Bog’s house, specifically to trick or treat. She knew the town was spread out over several miles. Their neighborhood wasn’t particularly big or filled with expensive homes. Then she began doing the math. Bog had to have spent over $3,000 for all the candy and special reflective trick or treat bags. They had screen printing on them that read Happy Halloween. Each bag had a picture of jack-o-lanterns, bats, candy skulls, black cats, or howling wolves.

  
Marianne also remembered what Bog had said about his mother cooking. She had been cooking for days. She knew her kitchen was full of pies, cakes, and loaves of bread. It occurred to her that those children would have parents with them. Zelda was baking all these things for Halloween. The thought was overwhelming. WHO did stuff like that?

=-=-=-=-=

When they finished with the bags, Bog insisted on taking them into town for breakfast. Bog made sure they knew it was his treat for their help in packing the bags with him. Marianne knew what it really was and was quiet through breakfast. She knew that at some point, he was going to ask if she had been paid and if they needed groceries. Marianne couldn’t lie to him, and she couldn’t tell him that it was none of his business. That answer would have immediately told him that no, she had not and wasn’t sure when she would be.

  
Bog noticed how quiet Marianne was, but wasn’t sure what to do about it. He felt awkward, trying to talk to her with Sunny and Dawn across the table from them. They were almost done with breakfast, and Bog had just put his arm around Marianne. She had not spoken much, but she had finished a massive plate of pancakes and a glass of chocolate milk. Bog wasn’t too worried.

  
Then he felt Marianne lean back against his arm and go stiff. She began trembling, and Bog looked at her, then in the direction she was looking. Roland had walked into the restaurant and was heading toward them. He was dressed like anyone else in the diner, a dark green sweater with gold trim and black pants. His hair was styled, and his eyes were fixed on Marianne and Bog. He had a smirk on his face that Bog would have loved to wipe off with his fist.

  
But they were in a diner packed full of people. There were families nearby with small children. This was not where a fight would be held.

  
“Good Mornin', Butter Cup.” Roland grinned, leaning on the back of the booth where Sunny and Dawn were sitting. Sunny immediately shifted to push Dawn a little closer to the wall. He turned in his seat and glared at Roland. “I know you're enjoyin’ your breakfast there, but I wanted to have a word with you in private.”

  
“No.” Bog snapped before Marianne could answer. She was trying to breathe normally and get herself under control. She needed a minute more. “Ye need ta leave.” Bog gestured to the door. “Ye are not welcome here.”

  
“You stay out of this, ‘Neighbor.’” Roland growled, glaring at Bog. “I am here to speak to Marianne.”

  
“Go away, Roland. I have nothing to say to you.” Marianne leaned over the table and focused on him.

  
“Please. Marianne. I need you.” Roland actually dropped to his knees next to the table and clasped his hands together.

  
Bog made sure he was positioned in case Roland tried anything. He was between him and Marianne. Bog said nothing, fixing his eyes on Roland.

  
“I don’t care what you need. You are not in my life.” Marianne turned and slid her arms around Bog, leaning her head against his shoulder. “I found someone who loves me, so why don’t you go back to wherever it is you crawled out from.” Marianne smiled at Roland. She wanted to punch him so bad, but Bog was in the way. There was also that second lawsuit possibility hanging over her head. She couldn’t afford another one of those.

  
“You know he’s a monster, right?” Roland sneered and gestured at Bog with his head.

  
“He is not.” Marianne scowled. There was no way. She got what Roland was saying, but she had seen Bog handle pure silver. He was a normal human, and Roland was trying to mess with her head. “Leave me alone, Roland. I will never go back to you.”

  
“Ye heard her,” grunted Bog. “Leave. She has no interest in ye, and I swear, if ye touch her or harm her in any way, I will make sure ye pay for it out of yer hide.”

  
“I would be more concerned about yourself.” Roland rose to his feet, scowling at Bog and Marianne. “Marianne. I need to speak with you.”

  
“No.” Both Bog and Marianne retorted.

  
“Marianne.” Roland gave her a stern look. “Does he know what you are?”

  
Bog glanced at Marianne. What? What did that mean? He looked back to Roland, prepared to get up to escort him out in as rough of a way as possible. Marianne had other ideas and scrambled over his left leg and got on her knees in front of him. She hit the table in the process rattling every dish on it and drawing all eyes on them. Even the ones who were trying so hard to ignore what was going on.

  
Marianne grabbed his head and pressed her lips to his. She began kissing him in a way that made Bog immediately start squirming. He was trying to keep his eyes on Roland, but her hands began traveling in overwhelming ways. Bog knew what she was doing as Roland’s face contorted with disgust. He couldn’t mentally enjoy it. That and all eyes were on them. Marianne stopped with a nip on Bog’s lower lip then turned to face Roland with a look that could melt steel.

  
“You touch him, and I will do more than break your leg, Roland. I have someone actually good for me in my life.” She growled.

  
“I see you’ve made your choice.” Roland took a step back, his face flushing red with anger and jealousy. He had NEVER gotten anything remotely that heated out of Marianne. “For however long, he survives.” He turned and stormed out of the diner, slamming the glass doors as he went.

  
Bog stared at Marianne, then at Roland’s retreating form, then at the other diners. They immediately looked away in silence. The entire restaurant was silent.

  
“He’s really scary.” Dawn whimpered in Sunny’s arms. The pair of them were squished up against the wall. They had moved further and further that direction as the conversation had gone.

  
“And dangerous.” Sunny added.

  
“Ye do know we would have made less of a scene if I got up, punched him, and dragged him out the front doors then beat him up in the parking lot?” Bog grabbed Marianne around the waist. He attempted to shift her back to where she was sitting. It was an awkward move with the table in front of them. “Are ye okay, Marianne?” She slid down on the seat next to him and lowered her head.

  
“I’m okay.” She whispered back.

  
“Marianne, you are going to have to teach me that one!” Dawn suddenly giggled, trying to break the silence. Sunny turned bright red beside her.

  
Bog almost quipped that they didn’t need any help in that direction but held his tongue. Instead, he dropped his hand to Marianne’s waist and pulled her to his side. She put her arm around him and leaned against him with a sigh. Bog could feel her trembling again, but she hadn’t completely locked up.

  
“Let’s go.” Bog grumbled after a few more minutes. He wanted to make sure that Roland was gone and led the way.

=-=-=-=-=

“So, Marianne, did ye get paid?” Bog didn’t want to ask as he started his car. Marianne squirmed in the seat next to him, not wanting to answer. “Do ye know when ye will? I know how it is. Jerk clients are always out there.” Marianne clasped her hands together and began wiggling her fingers nervously. “Okay, going to the grocery store.” Bog grumbled, putting his car into reverse. Some things were more important than pride, like making sure nobody starved in the house next to his.

  
Marianne did not say a word the entire time they were out. She would have stayed in the car if Bog hadn’t opened the door and offered her his hand. They walked through the grocery store with Bog trying to carry on a conversation with Marianne while Sunny and Dawn ran around them following Bog’s instructions.

  
“I’m cooking dinner for ye tonight at yer house.” Bog was trying everything he could to not make this embarrassing for Marianne. “That’s okay, isn’t it?” She was silent and wouldn’t look at him.

  
The cart was full in a short amount of time with Sunny and Dawn’s help. They checked out and Marianne watched as Bog handed the cashier a card to pay more for groceries than she ever had in a month since moving in. The card was swiped, and it was done.

=-=-=-=-=

Marianne would not talk. She had never been so embarrassed in her life, and that was saying something considering what she had done in the diner. When they got home, she went up to her studio and shut the door to send emails and work. Bog chose not to bother her and went back to his own home to do the same. They spent the afternoon with Marianne refusing to look in the direction of Bog’s house. He kept his chair turned to keep an eye on her the entire time.

  
There was no sign of any payments coming anytime soon. Marianne kept going over her finances. She was annoyed that there were several hundred dollars in her account that was supposedly spent. Yet, the charges had never processed. The most notable were all on the day that she had taken Bog out for his birthday a week ago. She had money, but it couldn’t be spent because she knew she had spent it. Those charges would come out. That’s just how things worked.

  
Then she thought back to when Bog took her out. His ‘discounts’ looked suspiciously like everyone gave him what he wanted. He had paid at the grocery store. She saw the card. Or was it all some elaborate show for appearances? She had paid with her card as well, and a week had gone by, and nothing had been debited. Marianne stared at her computer screen, trying to figure out what was going on.

  
A gentle knock came from Marianne’s studio door. “Marianne. Dinner’s ready if ye would like to join us.” Then she heard him walking away.

  
“I’m coming, wait, Bog!” Marianne got up out of her chair. She couldn’t keep this up any longer. “I have a question!” She opened the door to see him smiling at her so happy to see her and completely forgot what she was going to say.

  
“Good evening, Love.” Bog held a hand out to her. “What did ye want to ask?”

  
Marianne took his hand and smiled. “I don’t remember, but ah.” She sighed. “I’m sorry for ignoring you today, I had a lot to think about.” She glanced back into her studio, and the disappointing email window open on her screen. “I like that you want to take care of me, but I don’t want you to.”

  
“Not just ye.” Bog nodded. “Ye have two other people living in yer house, Marianne. Aren’t ye taking care of them in the same way?”

  
“Weeelll, don’t take this the wrong way, Bog, but they’re family.” Marianne stared up into his sad blue eyes. Then he smiled and lifted a hand to her cheek.

  
“Marianne. Ye’ve already asked me to be part of yer family when ye proposed to me yesterday.”

  
“You said no.” Marianne pouted more as show than intention. She leaned her head against his hand and laid her hand over his, sliding her fingers up his arm.

  
“Because I want to be the one proposing.” Bog smiled, leaning down to kiss her. “Are ye okay?”

  
“Other than living every moment in terror that Roland is going to walk through a wall and try to grab me, yes, I’m okay.” Marianne smirked. “I had a lot of therapy to get over what he did to me. I’m better, but I’ve been told it will never go away. But if he goes away, that’s the end of the panic attacks.”

  
“I am going to do that for ye.” Bog slid his arms around her and drew her closer. “Then I’ll think about this whole proposing thing. I love ye so much, ye are my Love.”

  
“Is that your name for me?” Marianne giggled. “Just please don’t add anything to it or make it cute. I’ve had enough of that.”

  
“Never!” Bog threw his hands up in mock disgust. Then a sly grin passed over his face. “My lovely sweetie pie, honeybunch, cookie bear, sweet pea, sugar plum, cherry, snuggle bunny, sugar bomb.”

  
“How do you even KNOW that many stupid nicknames!” Marianne laughed, pushing him playfully away from her. “NO! Do not call me those names!” She ran past him to the stairs.

  
“Jellybean, Sweetness, peach, gummy bear, cupcake!” Bog chased after her trying to dig up as many obnoxious names as he could think of. He was careful to avoid any he had heard Roland say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story ends tomorrow, but then I have another one to follow it. :D I should start it on Wednesdays, because I like schedules.
> 
> Bog chose Love as his primary 'pet' name for a very obvious reason. Nothing and no-one else deserves that name in his eyes. She personifies love as he believes it should be, a bit of a chaotic mess in one person. :D


	16. October 31st

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marianne and Bog get ready for Halloween.  
They get haircuts.  
Roland shows up.  
The fun ensues.

**October 31st**

Marianne woke to the sound of thunder and raindrops hitting her bedroom window. The rain was falling steadily, filling her room with its comforting sound. She sighed and snuggled up to her pillow. She had been in the middle of a wonderful dream. Marianne smiled, looking at her window and the dark shadows gathered in the corner. Something stirred in the darkness.

  
Marianne felt her body seize up as a form began coming out of the shadows. Light green eyes narrowed at her beneath a perfect head of blond hair. Marianne yelped and reached under her pillow for the taser.

  
It wasn’t there!

  
Marianne lifted her hand, going for the silver necklace she kept wrapped around her wrist.

  
It wasn’t there!

  
She scrambled over the side of her bed, reaching for her sword. Bells jingled all around her feet.

  
It was NOT THERE! She opened her mouth to scream. Roland lunged at her and grabbed her arms, forcing her flat on the floor.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog heard a scream coming from next door and was immediately out the door, half-dressed and in the rain. He banged on the Summers’ front door, and Sunny opened it. Without a word, Bog was gone and up the stairs to Marianne’s room, ready to fight whatever it was that was in her room.

  
All Bog found was Marianne on the floor wrapped up in her blankets and sheets. She was yelling and fighting for an opening. He sighed and grabbed one trailing end of the blanket, and pulled. Marianne tumbled out of the bundle in a very awkward position. She had a look of panic on her face, then she saw Bog standing a few feet away from her holding her blanket in his hands.

  
Marianne yelped and grabbed the closest sheet. “What are you doing here?!”

  
“Ye screamed?” Bog’s face was bright red. He dropped her blanket and turned away to leave. “I’m sorry.” He stopped in the doorway, still looking away. “Ye know it’s going to be today.” Then he almost slipped on a puddle. “I’ll get this cleaned up.” He groaned and realized he was soaking wet and had trailed water all the way through her house. He was barefoot and only had boxers on.

  
Today was going to be a long day.

-=-=-=-=-

Marianne was beaming at Bog as she watched Stuff work on him. Stuff had a nice little mobile salon. It was a converted RV with two chairs in it and everything a standard salon would have. Bog was sitting in one chair with his head back. Stuff was carefully shaving his beard and mustache to match a photo of John Wick she had taped to the mirror. Marianne was sitting in the other chair.

  
Thang kept peeking in, “D’ya need anything?”

  
“No!” Bog was beginning to get annoyed.

  
“Stop moving.” Stuff fussed at Bog. “Almost done.”

  
“It looks good.” Marianne giggled.

  
“Going to give him a trim next to go with it. He hasn’t been in for a hair cut in months.” Stuff moved around Bog with a pair of scissors shaping his facial hair.

  
“Oh, don’t cut off too much! I like it wavy!”

  
“I like it easy to manage.” Bog mumbled.

  
“Stop moving.”

  
“D’ya need anything?”

  
“NO!” Both Marianne and Bog replied.

  
“Okay.” Thang moved off, looking depressed that he couldn’t do anything to help.

  
“Easy to manage?” Marianne laughed. “I have SEEN your hair, Bog! Do you ever brush it?”

  
“I brush my hair.” He snorted.

  
“Knock it off you two.” Stuff thumped Bog’s chin with her fingers.

  
“Ow!”

  
“Stop moving!”

-=-=-=-=-

Half an hour later, Bog looked at himself in the mirror and obviously liked how he looked. He put on his best glower, attempting to pull off the most intimidating look he could manage. Marianne was amazed at how intensely threatening Bog could look. Then he grinned.

  
“It looks great.” Marianne stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

  
“Good. Now it’s yer turn.” Bog turned around and grabbed Marianne by the shoulders, stepping her back into the chair. “This is for that crack about me not brushing my hair.”

  
“I do not need a hair cut!” Marianne protested. “For one thing, I can’t pay for it.”

  
“My treat.” Bog grinned with one hand on her shoulder. “Do something with her, Stuff. Make it incredibly cute.”

  
“Oh no, you don’t!” Marianne tried to wriggle out of the chair.

  
“I grew an itchy beard for ye.” Bog leaned down into Marianne’s face scratching at his newly trimmed mustache. “Ye can get a hair cut.”

  
“How about a pixie cut?” Stuff suggested.

  
“I am NOT Tinkerbell!” Marianne protested.

  
“How about a trim and some purple streaks?” Stuff grumbled.

  
Bog reached into his pocket and produced a money clip. He counted out 12 twenty dollar bills and handed them to Stuff.

  
“Fiiiine.” Marianne sighed.

  
“I’m going to get dressed up.” Bog grinned, leaning in to kiss Marianne on the forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

  
“It takes an hour to an hour and a half.” Stuff started preparing her supplies. “What color highlights?”

  
“Purple and rose gold.” Bog’s grin widened as Marianne shot him a dirty look. Bog scratched his beard, running his fingers the length of it from ear to ear.

  
“I’m good with that,” Marianne grumbled, leaning back in the chair.

-=-=-=-=-

“Marianne.” Dawn bounced around her, touching her hair. Marianne’s thick hair had been tamed and trimmed up into a cute pixie bob. It flowed around her head and framed her face. Beautiful streaks of rose gold and purple highlighted her brown hair. It gave off a pleasant glowing effect. “It’s so beautiful. I’ve never seen you with such a cute hairstyle!”

  
“Blame Bog.” Marianne frowned.

  
“You’re not happy about it?” Dawn walked around to Marianne’s front, smiling as she ran her fingers through her big sister’s hair. “Why don’t you like it? It looks so good on you.”

  
“He paid for it.” Marianne sighed. She looked at her sister sadly. “I’m tired of being broke all the time because of Roland. I’m so tired of him continually messing up my life.”

  
“How much do you owe him? Sunny and I could help. You know we would.” Dawn bit her lower lip, looking at Marianne thoughtfully. She hated seeing her sister so sad.

  
“No, that money is for your future.” Marianne didn’t hesitate to turn it down. “Besides, I still owe him 10 grand. You don’t have that.”

  
“That’s a lot of money.” Dawn reached up to move a stray strand of hair out of Marianne’s eyes. “You look beautiful, Marianne.” She repeated, knowing her sister needed to hear it. “I hope Bog told you the same thing.”

“He did.” Marianne sighed. “He’ll be over in a little bit. He told me to come get you and tell you to get Sunny and go to Stuff’s van and get a haircut while she’s here. He’s paying.”

  
“Really?!” Dawn bounced in place, clasping her hands together. Sunny!!” She ran off to find her husband.

  
Marianne went up the stairs to get dressed. She didn’t have a lot to work with, but she figured Bog wouldn’t mind. Marianne was going to wear the dress he had bought her and the sandals. Dawn had a pair of small purple fairy wings she was going to borrow along with a tiara to serve as a crown. Marianne was going to strap the sword Bog had given her around her waist and go as a fairy princess warrior.

-=-=-=-=-

People began coming into the neighborhood and stopping at Bog’s house after lunch. He told Marianne that there were times set up, and the younger kids would be coming in first. Marianne, Sunny, and Dawn helped Bog set up tables on the porch. It was still drizzling off and. The sky was overcast. Marianne was dressed up in her costume, which Bog really liked. Sunny was dressed up like Aquaman, and Dawn was Mera. They had both taken advantage of Stuff’s services to get the right look. Dawn’s short blond hair had red highlights in it. Stuff had added long red hair extensions to Dawn’s hair. Sunny’s hair had similar lengthening done, so it fell behind his shoulders in a mane.

  
Marianne watched in amazement as people parked up and down the street. Then they brought their children up to Bog’s house. The children were mostly toddlers and younger. They were all dressed up in cute outfits and brought up to Bog, where he talked to each one on their level.

  
This was the most bizarre thing Marianne had ever seen out of him. Bog would carry on brief conversations with a genuine smile on his face and play with the kids. Mostly asking them for their scary face and snarling at them. The kids all did what he asked and then ran squealing from him. Then a bag was handed off, and they left.

  
Brutus and his brothers came up. Marianne was astonished to see that all three of them came with short petite wives. They had half a dozen children between them. Brutus had a very tiny baby cradled in one of his massive tattooed arms. Marianne smiled when he offered to let her hold the baby. Marianne didn’t have a lot of experience with babies. After a little instruction, she was looking into the blue eyes of an adorable baby girl with a scrunched up face. All their kids were chubby and cheerful as they interacted with ‘Uncle’ Bog together.

  
Bog sat on the porch as the group of children mobbed him with hugs. Marianne stood nearby, talking to the baby’s mother, glancing up occasionally. This was Brutus’ third child, a little girl named Grace.

  
“Expecting another one, Bruno?” Bog grinned as he got a hug from one of the older kids hanging over his shoulder. “Ye aren’t making yer own football team, are ye?”

  
One of the younger brothers laughed and looked at Marianne. “You better get to work if your kids want to compete with ours.”

  
“Don’t.” Bog turned serious for a brief moment tilting his head in Marianne’s direction. Then he went back to smiling. “Ye have cute kids.” Marianne didn’t miss the comment and handed the baby back to her mother, who then brought her to Bog.

  
“Grace?” Bog smiled, getting to his feet to hold her. “I haven’t met ye yet.” Bog reached out to touch the baby’s cheek, and she made a gurgling sound. “First girl. May ye grow up into yer name and keep yer big brothers in line.” Then he leaned forward and kissed the baby on the forehead. Brutus and his wife grinned at each other, then took a step back and bowed.

  
Marianne stared. Things were beginning to click, but they did not fit together at all. That looked like a blessing of some sort. She watched as the other brothers bowed, and so did their wives and children, then they turned and left.

  
Everyone bowed to Bog. He did not bow to anyone. It was a barely perceptible lowering of the head and shoulders, but it was a bow. Marianne observed that everyone who came to Bog did it, adults and children. She wanted to ask why they were doing it, but there was a growing crowd of visitors now.

-=-=-=-=-

Afternoon quickly became early evening, and still, the crowds came. Marianne wasn’t sure how Bog was handling all the socializing. He didn’t get a break. Bog would sit for a while in one of the porch chairs, get up and walk around, play with the kids, talk to them and their parents. He maintained a smile the entire time. This wasn’t the Bog Marianne had come to know. There was never a hint of shyness in him. Everyone continued bowing to him.

  
Marianne noticed as the sky began darkening that Bog looked for her more frequently. He was checking to see if she was there within his sight. She was supposed to keep nearby. They weren’t sure what was going to happen, but something was, and they had to be prepared for it.

  
Bog continued greeting families with a growing sense of unease. He was hiding it well. The presence of all the families going up and down the street was worrying him. A message had gone out days before that everyone needed to be wary and watching for strangers. He had given orders to everyone visiting his house. The children were to be taken to safety before anyone attempted to assist him. The Summers, specifically Marianne, needed to be protected. Atlanteans were to get them to safety and hopefully not let them see any Lyceans in their full forms.

  
“I need to run over to my house and see how Sunny and Dawn are doing.” Marianne touched Bog’s shoulder and motioned to her home. “I’ll be right back.”

  
“Okay.” Bog took her in his arms and gave her a firm hug then kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be here.”

  
Marianne walked down the steps and through the crowd of people amassed at the porch. Children in costume were running around screaming, laughing, and having a good time. She cut through the graveyard. Kids were jumping out from behind tombstones yelling at other kids. Then she was in her yard, which was also full of kids and people talking.

  
Dawn and Sunny were having a good time handing out candy to the children and talking to their parents. They were standing in front of the steps to their home.

  
“You guys doing okay?” Marianne walked up to them.

  
“Great!” Dawn giggled. “Have you ever seen so many people out on Halloween?!”

  
“And they have awesome costumes!” Sunny added. “I’ve seen some of the best werewolf costumes ever tonight! They look professional!”

  
“Glad to hear you’re enjoying it.” Marianne smiled, then stepped up to grab both of them by the shoulders so she could whisper to them at the same time. “Remember what I said. If anything happens, you need to stay out of the way. If you have to do anything, please don’t let anyone see you. Most importantly, if you are in danger, please run.” Marianne had told them what she and Bog were expecting. She was repeating the same instructions she had given them earlier in the day. “Don’t worry about me.”

  
Marianne had barely finished when she heard the sound of vehicles coming down the road. Signs had been placed on both ends of the street to block any cars, so the kids could freely roam from house to house. People began yelling.

  
Marianne took a deep breath and informed herself she could not lock up. She could not freeze.

  
Two large armored vehicles stopped in front of Bog and Marianne’s houses. They were going slow enough to allow people to get out of the way. But their presence brought an ominous atmosphere to the previously cheerful evening.

  
“Everyone, get yer kids out of here now!” Bog shouted, pushing past the people on his porch. “NOW!” People began grabbing whatever child was near them, whether it was theirs or not. The night was filled with children crying and screaming.

  
“Good evening, Darlin’.” Roland stepped out of the first van running a hand through his hair. He headed for Marianne, completely ignoring the people scrambling to get out of the way. He was fully geared up in Hunter armor. Black plates of heavy armor covered every inch of his body. A visible assortment of bladed weapons, pistols, and a rifle were strapped to his armor. His three most trusted men followed him out of the van.

  
Marianne felt the need to fight or flee wrestling for control. Three more men were disembarking the vehicle in front of Bog’s house, and Bog was heading her way.

  
“What do ye think ye are doing?” Bog snarled, waving at the families running down the street. He had to stall them as long as he could. “There are families out here!”

  
“Quiet. I am talking to Marianne. Stop right there.” Roland lifted a finger and wagged it at Bog. His trio raised their rifles and aimed at Bog. Bog stopped, turning to face the three men.

  
“Roland, please leave. Why can’t you leave me alone? I do not want you. I want nothing to do with you.” Marianne calmed herself and spoke gently. If they shot Bog, they would kill him.

  
“You just need a little time and attention, Butter Cup. I do love you.” Roland took a step forward, and Bog growled. “With all my heart. I will never cheat on you again. I will not hurt you. That was a mistake I will never make again. I love you.”

Marianne felt sicker with every word he said. He was repulsive, and she knew exactly what he had planned. She put her hands into the shallow pockets of her dress, her left hand on the taser, and the right on the silver necklace. “I do not love you. I never will.”

  
“Ye heard her. LEAVE!” Bog took a step closer, and the rifles all made a simultaneous clicking sound. Red laser lights pinpointed on Bog’s chest. He stopped.

  
“I have a proposition for you, Marianne. You see, your neighbor and his mother are two very valuable Lyceans. Rex Regis. Aren’t you, Bog?” Roland flashed a smile at Bog. “Tell her.”

  
“Stop lying!” Marianne took a step forward, her face flushing with anger. She did not believe Roland. She waved a hand behind her, trying to get Sunny and Dawn to go into the house. Nobody was after them. “This is about you and me, and there is no you and me, Roland!”

  
“Oh, but there can be. Y’ see, this is my offer, whether you believe me or not. You come with me willing-willingily-willingly and be my wife, or I will have Bog shot right now. Human or Lycean, he’s going to die. We are using silver-tipped rounds.”

  
Marianne glanced at Bog worriedly. He had not moved and was looking at her with similar worry written on his face. “No, Marianne. Run.” He took a step forward.

  
“Kill him!” Roland gave the order, and the three men opened fire.

  
“NO!” Marianne screamed. Bog was flung backward by the force of multiple bullets hitting him the chest. “No!” Marianne turned back to Roland. “He’s just a man! Why did you do-”

Roland grabbed Marianne’s hand and jerked her toward the van.

  
“Time to go.” He began dragging Marianne toward the van. “Get the mother too!” His men nodded and ran toward Bog’s house.

  
“Nobody is touching my mother!” Bog snarled, sitting up and rubbing a hand over his chest, tearing at the shredded shirt. Silvery grey material showed through it. He hadn’t told Marianne he would be be wearing any kind of protection. Bog whipped out the two guns that Marianne had thought were part of his costume. He began firing, and Roland’s men immediately sought cover to return fire. “That hurt! But not nearly as much as what I’m about to do to ye!”

  
There was a scream, and one of the men went down who had run up onto Bog’s porch. Marianne couldn’t see what was happening. It sounded like he was dragged inside the house, where the screaming continued.

  
“Get the lights!” Bog shouted, tossing his empty pistols aside. The neighborhood was plunged into darkness as the street lights exploded. Seeing Bog’s head turned away from her, Marianne growled a quick equation. Flames shot up Roland’s arm. He yelped and let her go.

  
Bog had discarded the guns and was charging at Roland, intending to tackle him to the ground. Roland turned to meet Bog with a fist pulled back. “Paying you back for the first time we met!” Then he spoke a few barely perceptible words.

  
“Bog, look out!” Marianne shrieked, knowing what was coming.

  
The blow from Roland’s fist slammed into Bog’s chest, propelling him all the way into his yard. Bog ended up crashing into his ghost town.

  
“Kill them!” Roland shouted. He then turned his gaze on Marianne.

  
“No!” Marianne screamed, throwing her hands up. “I’ll go with you!”

  
“That offer is expired.” Roland stepped forward and grabbed for Marianne. She stumbled back and dropped the taser. Then Roland advanced on her. “Don’t even think about fighting me. You will lose.”

  
Marianne caught a glimpse of movement in the enveloping darkness. They were not alone. People were amassing behind the vans. Points of bluish-purple light were forming in their hands as they advanced. Gleaming weapons appeared before her eyes, and more forms stepped beside the first row.

  
Marianne gasped, realizing what she was seeing. There were a dozen Atlanteans creating weapons. They handed them off to the people behind them. People that weren’t actually people. Hybrid form Lyceans stepped forward, taking the weapons. Then came the shields. More bestial Lyceans filled in the gaps. Then they began advancing, accompanied by warning snarls. They were moving in organized lines to surround the invaders.

  
“Roland.” Marianne continued backing away from him. “You might want to rethink this.”

  
A deep guttural snarling came from Bog’s front yard. It was followed by the sound of splintering and breaking wood. Bog’s western town shook. Marianne and Roland turned to see a massive black furred form rising over the structures. Bog bared his fangs and crashed through the structures heading for Roland.

  
Marianne was barely able to get out of the way as Bog charged by snapping at Roland. She staggered back in astonishment, unsure of what to do. Bog was a Lycean? He really WAS a Lycean?! And he was massive! Roland was using his ability to dodge Bog, phasing through his jaws and then reappearing a few feet away. Bog was so fast that Roland was having a difficult time getting in position to do anything more than evade.

  
Roland managed to get a sword in hand and got in a few slashes on Bog’s legs and muzzle. Sparks flew every time the sword made contact, and smoke rose from them. Bog didn’t relent. He was determined to catch Roland any way he could.

  
Marianne pulled out the silver chain and ran after Bog and Roland. Gunfire erupted behind her. Armed Lyceans and Atlanteans were closing in on Roland’s five remaining men.

-=-=-=-=-

Dawn and Sunny were watching from the porch. Sunny had a huge smile plastered on his face and tears running down his face. “Do you see them! DO YOU SEE THEM!”  
“Yeah! We need to get out there and help!” Dawn clenched her fists.

  
“We can’t be seen!” Sunny scowled. “No, we can. Just be careful your abilities aren’t seen!” Sunny began reciting an equation. He formed a bluish-purple curving blade, then a shield. He handed them to Dawn, then made an identical set for himself. “Let’s go!”

  
The pair of them slipped off the porch and ran toward Bog’s yard.

-=-=-=-=-

Marianne made sure nobody was watching as she pursued Bog and Roland. The Lyceans and Atlanteans were concentrated around Bog’s house. But others were running along the sides of the street. She had to get the silver necklace around Roland, or he was going to escape.

  
“Roland!” Marianne screamed for him as she got an idea. She ran off to the side. “Get me out of here!”

  
Bog hesitated when he heard those words. He lifted his head, bright blue eyes focusing on Marianne in shock. Had she really said that? His ears wilted back in horror. He had shown himself, and now he was being rejected. He held back, his heart aching. Then his eyes met Marianne’s. She made a motion with her hand, holding it up and gesturing for him to come closer. Bog moved.

  
Roland made several leaps in that time to appear next to Marianne. “About time, you came to your senses.” He reached out to take Marianne’s hand, intending to transport both of them away.

  
Marianne smiled and grabbed his hand, wrapping the necklace over his hand and arm. Roland stared at the gleaming silver. Then he looked up at Marianne questioningly, only to meet a fist in the face. He staggered back. “BOG! NOW!” Marianne stepped back, and Bog snarled, charging at Roland. Bog slammed one massive paw down on Roland, crushing him to the ground, then he stood over him snarling.

  
Roland was squirming, but the silver was wrapped around his arm and snagged in his armored plates. Unfortunately, his mouth was still free. Roland shouted out an equation, and fire exploded around him. Bog had to jump back, his feet and chest engulfed in flame.

  
Marianne hoped nobody was watching as she uttered her own equation. She swept her hands up, dragging all the water around them up and onto Bog’s body. Bog hit the ground shoulders first, rolling to extinguish the fire. He didn’t see what Marianne had done to help him.

  
Roland attempted to get up, reaching for the necklace on his arm. He stopped when he felt the cold steel of a sword slide under his neck.

  
“Say anything or move, Roland. I dare you.” Marianne held her sword ready. She tilted it to make sure that Roland could feel the sharp edge of the blade against his throat. He glared at her but did not move.

  
“Good job, Dear.” Marianne had to keep her eyes on Roland, but she saw the form of a red wolf, a little smaller than Bog, trot up next to her. She towered over Marianne and bared her teeth in a wolfish smile to Bog.

  
Bog walked up slowly, head down. Smoke from his burned fur was rising up around him, and he was soaked. “Please take care of his memories, Mother. If any of the others survived, do the same.”

  
“What?!” Roland sputtered, as a pair of Atlanteans grabbed him by the arms and lifted him up. One clamped a hand over his mouth.

  
“Hold him still.” The red wolf shifted. Within moments she had shrunken into Bog’s mother. She was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing earlier. There was blood spattered on her face and arms, but none on her clothes. Zelda stepped forward and laid a hand to Roland’s head, and began uttering a long equation. A blank look appeared on Roland’s face within moments.

  
Marianne found herself breathing hard. She took a swaying step back with her sword tip hitting the asphalt. Bog took a few more steps, head down, thinking about what he needed to say. Atlanteans and Lyceans had gathered around them and were watching. Dawn and Sunny were among them. Bog noted in passing amusement that they had managed to pick up Atlantean weapons. They had joined in to help. He approved.

  
Bog turned his massive head and looked at Marianne, his blue eyes gleaming with worry. Marianne was a different story. He took a step closer, and she took a step back. “Marianne. I am the same person in this form as the one ye profess yer love to. Ye are my love.” He lowered his head in a bow until his muzzle was almost touching the ground. “I love ye. Ye are free to leave if ye want to. We’ll take care of Roland.” He paused and took a breath. “Can ye take me as I am?” Then he shifted back to his human form with his costume as it had been before he shifted.

  
Marianne stared at him and swallowed hard. She shakily slid her sword back into the scabbard. Marianne had thought he was a human the entire time. He thought she was as well. He STILL thought she was human. Everything had happened so fast.

  
“Marianne?” Bog held his hand out. “What do ye want?” It was now or never. He pushed aside his worries and doubts. His nervous blue eyes met Marianne's unsure brown ones. She stared at him in silence.

  
“Marianne.” Bog sighed. “I do not have a ring.” He knelt on one knee and kept his hand out.

  
Marianne did not hesitate. She knew what she wanted. She walked up to him and slid her hand into his, then fell against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I want you.” She whispered. “Yes.”

  
Bog wrapped his arms around Marianne tightly. “That took a lot of guts.”

  
“I know. I have to spend my life with you now.” Marianne giggled as tears began to fill her eyes. “And that wet dog smell.”

  
Bog smiled, pulling back so he could look into Marianne’s eyes. “I meant trapping Roland like that.” He glanced away, then back again. “I almost thought ye were going to go with him.”

  
“No way.” Marianne stuck her tongue out and made a face of disgust.

  
“So impressive.” He reached up with both hands to run them through Marianne’s hair and drew her close into a passionate kiss.

Dad was not going to be happy about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this out as a short story. It has since evolved into something far greater. While I enjoy writing Blackwood, that one will end after three books and this one is going to go on for a good long time. And it's going to, due to the arrival of a character that popped in and stated: Nice story you have here. Shame if I got involved and instigate chaos by simply being here. And I got plans.
> 
> Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it and getting such a good response. I am new to A03 and I wasn't sure what it was. I'm glad I've found a nice little community here.
> 
> I did it. I wrote a novel in under a month. Did illustrations. AND I UPDATED IT ON TIME! I am never doing this again. :D
> 
> Edit: The next day: Oh. wait... I'm doing NaNoWriMo. :D I AM UPDATING A STORY almost every day. :P I forgot. If you would like to read it, it's associated and one of the characters will be showing up in the continuation of this one. You can read Fantasy Nevermore here. https://archiveofourown.org/works/21270353/chapters/50642741

**Author's Note:**

> Comments make me happy. Lots of comments mean I might continue beyond the end of the story which will end on October 31st. This is also why I try to leave comments on everyone else's stories when I read them. My original intent was to update the chapters ON the actual days they occur on, but that means frequent posting over a few days.  
At this point, I AM continuing the story. I am almost DONE with November and have the framework of December, however, I am not going to do the posting of a whole novel in one month, because... wow... that's a ton of editing work! Instead, I will break it down to once a week like my other stories, so I can also post them. I want to write a really good story and also work on my actual real-life job. :D Then next October I can add another one. ;)


End file.
